Immersive journalism: a narrative analysis in virtual reality apps

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2020-1447

Keywords:

immersive journalism; mobile journalism; virtual reality; 360º videos; smartphone

Abstract

This paper, which is part of the field of immersive journalism studies, compares the narrative of contents published in El País VR, Folha 360º, Estadão RV and NYT VR, specific applications for 360-degree productions of the newspapers El País (Spain), Folha de S. Paulo and Estado de S. Paulo (Brazil) and New York Times (United States). In addition to identify the main characteristics of 51 publications, the main of this study is to verify the level of immersion these contents provide to the users. Due to this, a content analysis has been carried out, based on methodological contributions by authors from different countries. The final result points out that the spatial immersion level is much higher than the sensory level in most of the sample, which leads to a relative virtual reality experience for the user.  Hence, with the exception of the content of NYT VR, the user does not usually feel involved psychologically about to immerse totally in the story and forget reality. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage the creation of more innovative initiatives with digital avatar narratives.

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Author Biographies

Juliana Colussi, Rosario University

She is currently an associate professor and researcher in the Journalism and Public Opinion Program at the Universidad del Rosario (Colombia). Ph.D. and Master in Journalism from the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain). Her main lines of research are focused on the formation of journalists, media innovation, mobile journalism, immersion journalism, and misinformation in the political process. She has published more than 25 articles in indexed international magazines. She is the main researcher of the research project “Observatory of mobile journalism in Iberoamerica” and the research seedbed “Studies on mobile journalism in Colombia”.

Thays Assunção Reis, Federal University of Tocantins

Professor of the Journalism program at the Federal University of Tocantins (Brazil). Ph.D. student in the Graduate Program in Communication at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Master in Journalism from the Ponta Grossa State University. She graduated in Journalism from the Federal University of Maranhao and in History from the Maranhao State University.

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Published

2020-07-30

How to Cite

Colussi, J., & Assunção Reis, T. (2020). Immersive journalism: a narrative analysis in virtual reality apps. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, (77), 19–32. https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2020-1447

Issue

Section

Miscellaneous