How VR Technology is Influencing Reporting

Over the last three years, virtual reality (VR) and its immersive interactive environment has moved past its early, more experimental phase in its use within journalism. As with any technology, VR has now been around long enough for it to become more accessible for wider use and is now more affordable. VR has already been integrated into our media, as technological advancements continue on a steady upward trajectory. Nowadays 360 videos can be seen on smartphones and VR gaming has become steadily more popular and supported by developers, among more uses for VR that are showing up. With that in mind, it does seem inevitable that it would eventually be integrated into journalism to enhance its storytelling capabilities.

Journalists and news organizations have both been compelled by VR and aim to enhance the news consumption experience beyond merely reading or watching content. Most organizations, especially publicly funded broadcasters, have held off on making investments into it so far. They were positioning for the future and waiting for the technology to be accessible enough for true viability in the market, but now the time has come where more of them are seeing how its use can be justified.

How VR Can Change News Consumption Trends

VR can enhance news storytelling by effectively integrating people into stories about political events, cultural narratives, and environmental issues. VR can allow them to experience the full sensory and emotional impact of a story due to its interactive elements. News consumers can use VR to both literally and figuratively see a story from new angles thanks to features like 360-view that can be employed on any device they use to read or watch the news. 

Most news VR uses this 360-video feature as opposed to fully immersive VR that requires a more expensive, high-end headset. If these headsets steadily go down in price as newer ones get released then more people will have access to them, necessitating that news organizations invest further in fully immersive VR. Having a true 360-view independent from a smartphone would enable viewers to truly understand the daily lives of citizens in countries torn apart by war, such as Syria and Ukraine, as well as provide the true perspectives of the people dealing with major disasters and humanitarian crises around the world.

There are some ethics of VR journalism we need to keep an eye on, though, to ensure that it will help and not harm. To be more specific, this form of news media consumption could make misinformation even more impactful, and it is possible that it could have negative emotional and psychological effects on viewers. However, potential issues arise with any medium through which journalism is shared and these issues can be navigated around if proper care is taken.

What’s Next for VR in Journalism?

We are still in a fairly unfamiliar realm when it comes to VR. The majority of people still do not have immersive VR headsets and there are a limited number of news organizations that are even utilizing the simple 360-view for their pieces. 

Nevertheless, that will all gradually shift, normalizing VR as a part of the news consumption experience down the line. The very next step is to introduce it to a wider audience and expose them to the technology to the point where they grow more comfortable with it. VR will continue to evolve and become more within reach, leading to the technology potentially revolutionizing the way news is consumed and reported.