Farid Mohammadi; Vahid Aqili; Mohammad Javad Rezaeian
Abstract
The concept of immersive journalism was coined by Nonny de la Pena et al in 2010, which means “the production of news in a form in which people can gain first-person experiences of the events or situation described in news stories.” Immersive journalism is an experiential approach that allows ...
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The concept of immersive journalism was coined by Nonny de la Pena et al in 2010, which means “the production of news in a form in which people can gain first-person experiences of the events or situation described in news stories.” Immersive journalism is an experiential approach that allows users to experience, and subsequently, become immersed in stories. At the time being many European and American news organizations such as CNN, Euronews, BBC, The New York Times, Russiatoday, Guardian and Fox tell their stories via VR technologies. The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize immersive journalism and examine vital questions that rise up in this emerging field, based on interviews with immersive journalists and experts. The results showed that the aims of immersive journalism are: experience events, increase emotional aspects, high-quality display, embodiment and first-person experience. The major benefits that immersive journalism brings are: exclusive access, closing distance, spatial storytelling, presence and viewer agency. The appropriate genres for immersive journalism are: VR- live videos, VR News and VR documentaries. Eventually, the requirements that journalists ought to meet in immersive journalism include: complying with ethical codes, learning new skills, guaranteeing the minimum quality of service and persuading users to experience immersive journalism.
