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Explo ing he imme si e jou nalism landscape
© 2020 he Au ho s
Published e sion
Si kkunen, Esa; Vázquez-He e o, Jo ge; Uskali, Tu o; Vää äjä, Heli
Si kkunen, E., Vázquez-He e o, J., Uskali, T., & Vää äjä, H. (2020). Explo ing he imme si e
jou nalism landscape. In T. Uskali, A. Gynnild, S. Jones, & E. Si kkunen (Eds.), Imme si e
Jou nalism as S o y elling : E hics, P oduc ion, and Design (pp. 13-24). Rou ledge.
h ps://doi.o g/10.4324/9780429437748-3
2020
2
EXPLORING THEIMMERSIVE
JOURNALISM LANDSCAPE
Esa Si kkunen, Jo ge Vázquez- He e o, Tu o Uskali,
and Heli Vää äjä
Cu en d i e s o 360- deg ee jou nalism ha e been mos ly cu ious abou he
new medium, i s possibili ies, and a e explo ing business oppo uni ies. The ea ly
adop ion o such echnology is o en a ma e o b and- building– ha is, news
o ganiza ions expe imen ing wi h i ual eali y (VR) wan o demons a e ha
hei digi al s a egies a e o wa d- hinking (Wa son 2017). A e in e iewing
ep esen a i es om leading US newspape s, Boswo h and Sa ah (2019, 226)also
conclude, “among majo media companies ha ailing o expe imen in imme si e
and expe imen al s o ies will mean losing a ace”.
Thus a , 360- deg ee jou nalism has been gene ally a es bed o he mos p om-
inen media companies. Fo example, he BBC p oduced he e y i s en i ely
360- deg ee TV episode o he echnology p og am Click in Ma ch 2016. One c u-
cial ac o d i ing hese expe imen s has been he ac i i y o ech companies like
Samsung and Google, who sponso ed majo jou nalis ic ins i u ions such as The
NewYo k Times and Eu onews in 2017. Majo pla o ms like Facebook and YouTube
ha e al eady buil pla o ms o 360-deg ee con en wi h he possibili y o use s
o publish con en hemsel es. The p ocess o pla o miza ion (Helmond 2015;
Niebo g and Poell 2018) o 360-deg ee con en and consump ion is well unde way.
This chap e s a s wi h an o e iew o 360-deg ee jou nalism gen es. We espe-
cially explo e he ela ionship be ween con en ional jou nalism and 360- deg ee
p oduc ions. Ou hypo hesis is ha he gene al na a i e con en ions and e hical
p inciples o jou nalism a e e lec ed in he e ol ing 360-deg ee jou nalism. We
con inue wi h ques ions ega ding p oduc ion and na a ion based on in e iews
wi h jou nalis s making imme si e jou nalism. We discuss sui able opics, p oduc ion
p ocesses and na a i e op ions conce ning imme si e jou nalism, especially 360-
deg ee jou nalism. The da a o his chap e con ains indings o p ojec s in which
we ha e analyzed mo e han 100 360- deg ee s o ies (Si kkunen, Uskali, & Vää äjä
2017 a,b; Vázquez- He e o & López- Ga cía 2017; Si kkunen & Vázquez- He e o
14 Esa Si kkunen e al.
2018). We ha e analyzed he 360- deg ee jou nalism o CNN, USA Today, The
NewYo k Times, Eu onews, he BBC, The Wall S ee Jou nal, The Gua dian, El País,
and Dagens Nyhe e . Addi ionally, we ha e in e iewed 13 expe s in imme si e
jou nalism om 2016 o 2019. Those in e iewed come om he US (4), UK (1),
Sweden (1), and Finland (7). In e iewees we e chosen om a ious kinds o jou -
nalis ic o ganiza ions (YLE, Helsingin Sanoma , Dagens Nyhe e , he AP, F on line),
wi h a ew people om VR p oduc ion and gaming companies, ech companies,
and academic eache s o VR. The in e iews we e done ace- o- ace, eco ded,
and conduc ed along a semi- s uc u ed ques ionnai e, each in e iew las ing 20 o
60 minu es.
E ol ing gen es
We ha e analyzed 360- deg ee con en by opic, leng h, na a ion s a egies, and
imme si e ea u es in each 360- deg ee s o y. Analyzing a ious cha ac e is ics like
sound, came a mo emen , and imme sion, we wan ed o g asp he mul imodal
(K ess 2010) a o dances o 360- deg ee as a medium. F om hese indings, we
buil en a i e gen es o 360- deg ee jou nalism. We wan o unde sco e ha we
a e no ying o build a pe manen axonomy o 360- deg ee jou nalism. Ou
unde s anding o he gen e concep highligh s i s uns able, dynamic na u e (K ess
2010, 133). We ha e iden i ied h ee en a i e gen es:360- deg ee li e, 360- deg ee
news, and 360- deg ee documen a ies. We will also ouch b ie ly on he ou h gen e,
360- deg ee ic ion, when i is p oduced by media companies and dissemina ed on he
same pla o ms as he jou nalis ic pieces. We will gi e sho desc ip ions o each
gen e in he ollowing.
Fi s , 360- deg ee li e can be compa ed o li e ele ision o adio in ha 360-
deg ee equipmen ansmi s li e oo age, and he sound lows om an in e es ing
en i onmen . I gi es use s op ions o look a ound and ob ain a ull pano ama o
he e en . Fo example, 360- deg ee li e has been used o ansmi NBA games
and o he spo s e en s, conce s, own mee ings, and poli ical spec acles such as
P esiden Donald T ump’s inaugu a ion in 2016. Howe e , li e s eaming in 360-
deg ee is no a gen e solely o media houses. Mo eo e , use - gene a ed 360-
deg ee li e on YouTube, Pe iscope and Facebook is becoming inc easingly popula
(Schae laeckens 2017; S einbe g 2018; Cohen 2018).
Pe haps he mos - p oduced gen e o 360- deg ee jou nalism hus a is 360-
deg ee news. Wi h a du a ion om one o h ee minu es, use s can isi dis an places,
explo e he wonde s o na u e and a exhibi ions, o isi wa zones and e ugee
camps. The mos ac i e news oom has been The NewYo k Times, which in 2016–
18 p oduced 351 360- deg ee news pieces, ollowing Eu onews wi h 144 pieces
(Si kkunen & Vázquez- He e o 2018). Samsung sponso ed bo h companies. The
NewYo k Times’ p ojec The Daily 360 was sho ac oss 57 coun ies by 200 di e en
jou nalis s. Acco ding o The NewYo k Times, he ideos ga he ed 94million iews
on Facebook and wo million iews on YouTube (Willens 2017).
Explo ing he imme si e jou nalism landscape 15
In ou analysis, we ound an in e es ing di e ence in s o y elling be ween The
NewYo k Times and Eu onews. Eu onews has adop ed 360- deg ee as pa o hei
epo e s’ wo k p ocess. This means Eu onews epo e s use na a ion mo e amilia
om TV epo ing, o example jou nalis s’ oiceo e na a ion o epo ing is-
ibly on he spo . The NewYo k Times chose a di e en pa h. The NewYo k Times’
epo ing le s sou ces ell hei s o ies and keeps he jou nalis mos ly in isible and
silen , as Figu e 2.1 shows.
When analyzing 100 360- deg ee news ideos by The New Yo k Times and
Eu onews, we iden i ied h ee di e en na a ion s a egies (Si kkunen & Vázquez-
He e o 2018). Following Jones (2017), we call he i s wo epo e - led and sou ce-
led na a ion (Figu e 2.1). The i s means he epo e is p esen ei he as a oiceo e
o isible in he oo age. Sou ce- led na a ion means he jou nalis / epo e is isu-
ally o ocally absen and a pe son ells his o he s o y as he only na a o . The
hi d– also qui e common– is o le he use see and hea he 360-deg ee con en
wi hou signi ican in e up ions om jou nalis s o sou ces. We called his in isible/
neu al na a ion (Si kkunen & Vázquez- He e o 2018). No ably, jou nalis s pa ially
con ol his hi d s a egy by placing he came a, di ec ing e en s, cu ing oo age
and adding possible ex ual in o ma ion o sounds.
The nex subgen e is 360- deg ee documen a ies ( o example, Unde wo ld:A Vi ual
Expe ience o he London Sewe s o 6x9 by The Gua dian) come close o ex ensi e 2D
documen a ies ega ding he amoun o wo k and money spen on p oduc ion. The
du a ion o ideo documen a ies a ies and is mos ly be ween ou o 20 minu es.
Compa ed o 360- deg ee news, mo e a ied na a i e s a egies and s yles a e used.
Ano he o shoo wo h men ioning is 360- deg ee ic ion. Based on ou
obse a ions, i is mainly The NewYo k Times who has p oduced hem. O cou se,
many o he 360- deg ee p oduc ion houses ha e ocused on anima ed ic ion,
d ama, o sho ic ion s o ies. As such, publishing ic ion may be a wise mo e o
The New Yo k Times
54%
34%
12% 60%
10%
30%
Eu onews
In isible/neu al Repo e Sou ce
FIGURE 2.1 Na a ion s a egies o The NewYo k Times and Eu onews.
16 Esa Si kkunen e al.
a jou nalis ic pla o m, because ic ion b oadens he scope o he con en a ailable
and a ac s new use s o a company’s VR con en . Good examples o 360- deg ee
ic ion a e Lincoln in he Ba do, a e sion o he no el by Geo ge Saunde s, o LA
Noi e sho s o ies, in which a use is no casual obse e bu a cha ac e in a ba o
1940s’ Los Angeles. O he examples o ic ion con en on 360-deg ee a e Alen o
(RTVE) and Ce an es VR (RTVE). In e es ingly, ac ual jou nalism and ic ion ha e
appea ed on he same pla o m be o e, o example in he p e- his o y o mode n
jou nalism in he la e 19 h cen u y, when no els and poems we e published i s as
se ial s o ies in newspape s and magazines.
As men ioned, he ield is eme ging, and bo de lines be ween en a i e gen es
a e in lux. To illus a e his dynamically e ol ing ield, we o med a ou old able
based on he impo ance o pho o ealis ic e ec s ( he isual ep esen a ion o ime
and space o he news) in Figu e 2.2. We placed gen es e ol ing om pho o ealism
(uppe le ) o emo ional ealism (in he cen e ) and inally o ic ion (lowe igh )
o illus a e he di e ences and con inui ies be ween gen es. The ou old igu e
illus a es also he in e ac ion be ween documen a y and ic ion gen es– a p ocess
ha has happened p e iously in he his o y o jou nalism, o ins ance in he ea ly
de elopmen o he ele ision documen a y (see, o example, Cu in 1993).
In conclusion, in 360- deg ee li e and 360- deg ee news he pho o ealis ic
adi ion is mo e p e alen , while in 360- deg ee documen a ies a wide a ay o
na a i e means is allowed. Fo example, in he beginning o sphe ical VR jou -
nalism, some p ominen documen a is s ha e been using anima ed cha ac e s and
en i onmen s wi h eal, on- he- spo audio eco dings. One pionee , Nonny de la
Peña, has coined he concep o beha io al ealism (de la Peña 2017, 2) o mean
he sense o p esence in he s o y is mo e impo an in c ea ing au hen ici y o he
pho o ealis ic en i onmen , o ins ance.
Cons uc ed space
Real space o he e en
Cons uc ed ime
360-DEGREE NEWS
360-DEGREE
DOCUMENTARIES
360-DEGREE
FICTION
360-DEGREE LIVE
Real ime o he e en
YLE: Helsinki Aleppo
Gua dian: 6x9
NYT Daily 360
BBC: We Wai
Eu onews 360
Emblema ic: Hunge in LA
Emblemac: Iceland is Melng
NYT: Lincoln in he Ba do
NYT: LA Noi
RTVE: Ce an es VR
FIGURE 2.2 Some 360- deg ee p oduc ions illus a ed ou old. The igu e depic s
howdi e en codes, canons o he o ic and na a ion s a egies a e applied in di e en
360 jou nalism subgen es.

Explo ing he imme si e jou nalism landscape 17
Ou gen e analysis does no say much abou he in en ions and expe iences
o he ac ual c ea o s o 360- deg ee jou nalism. To ge mo e insigh in o such
c ea ions, we conduc ed a small numbe o expe in e iews.
S a wi h wi ness es
In in e iews, we ocused on he p ocess o making VR jou nalism conce ning he
ollowing ou hemes:wha kind o opics a e sui able o VR jou nalism, wha
kind o s a is equi ed o making VR, he p inciples o VR s o y elling, and he
main p oblems conce ning he publica ion o VR s o ies. In he ollowing, we
in oduce key indings om in e iews and connec hose o ou con en analysis
esul s p esen ed ea lie and in e iews published elsewhe e.
In ou analysis o Eu onews, he opics in 360- deg ee news a y om Eu ope’s
poli ics and social p oblems such as clima e change o human in e es s o ies abou
exci ing expe iences in exo ic en i onmen s. Topics in The NYT Daily included
poli ics, bu also mo e b oadly social p oblems, mino i ies, cul u e and a in expe i-
en ially in e es ing su oundings (Si kkunen & Vázquez- He e o 2018).
How do VR p o essionals hemsel es de ine opics sui able o mo e imme -
si e s o y elling? The e a e a ious ways o make hese decisions. Fo example, in
CNN’s news oom, be o e s a ing o make a 360- deg ee s o y, jou nalis s e alua e
news opics using a pa e n hey call he wi ness es . Only opics in which he en i -
onmen is in e es ing and c ea es s ong expe iences o use s should be chosen.
Jason Fa kas om CNN emphasizes he impo ance o isce al expe iences– o
example, jumping ou o planes o unning wi h bulls in Pamplona (Wa son 2017).
Ville Juu ilainen, a jou nalis om he Finnish na ional b oadcas ing company
YLE’s Plus Desk, belie es gi ing he use a p esence in a new en i onmen is he
key o success ul VR/ 360- deg ee jou nalism. Acco ding o him, he same p inciple
can be used in nea ly all hemes and opics, om spo s o poli ics, he economy, o
u u e u ban isions. VR can be pa icula ly use ul in isualiza ions in which one
mus gi e use s a sense o size o scale.
I is no only wha you see bu also om whose angle you see i . I we hink
abou my making a VR s o y on how pedes ian c ossings a e insecu e o
child en, Ican make he adul s look he same om a amilia place down
he e ( om a child’s pe spec i e). We can li e ally play wi h di e en pe spec i es,
which will de ini ely aise some ques ions.
Juu ilainen 2017
Ma ilda Hanson om he Swedish newspape Dagens Nyhe e emphasizes he same
ea u e o p o iding ways o use s o pe cei e he news om di e en angles han
hey ha e no mally used, which can be he e y asse o VR jou nalism.
The e o e, i ’s e y much he physical expe ience o almos a p esence in
hese di e en a eas o he wo ld whe e people don’ ge o go no mally.
18 Esa Si kkunen e al.
I hink i is also a ma e o anspa ency. We do no ame he way we do
as pho og aphe s. […] The e’s so much ha we ame and so much ha we
cu ou (in no mal wo- dimensional jou nalism) because we hink his is he
impo an s o y bu , in a way, he eade s miss ou a lo o hings ha would
make hem empa hise and unde s and he wo ld be e .
Hanson 2017
As wi h an in e iew (Willens 2017), The New Yo k Times’ Ma celle Hopkins,
Execu i e Di ec o o Vi ual Reali y, highligh s he impo ance o in e es ing
and ex ao dina y places ha lu e use s o make a isi wi h 360-deg ee ech-
nology. She hinks ha he en i onmen s wo k be e han, o example, 360- deg ee
in e iews. When using he 360-deg ee headse s, use s also appea ed o s ay longe
explo ing he 360- deg ee en i onmen han wa ching he same ma e ial on la
ideo (Willens 2017).
Addi ionally, en i onmen s should ha e some hing ex a o use s o expe i-
ence. E en by 2016, Paul Cheung, hen om he AP, had lea ned ha mos o
he happenings like ashion shows o exhibi ions do no b ing ex a alue when
documen ed wi h 360- deg ee equipmen . Howe e , 2D oo age is o en su i-
cien o documen ing hese kinds o occasions in which he ocus is ixed ons age.
“The ule o humb is ‘would you look a ound you in a ce ain si ua ion?’ I he
answe is yes, hen maybe he e is an oppo uni y o c ea e a VR expe ience”
(B ackebush 2016).
Du a ion is also an impo an ac o . Acco ding o Paul Cheung, AP jou nalis s
ha e shi ed o sho e news ideos, as hey seem o wo k be e on social media
pla o ms. Howe e , his does no mean ha long o m is banned in AP, bu longe
s o ies a e used, o example, in ea u e opics (B ackebush 2016).
As a summa y o wha makes good 360- deg ee jou nalism, we s a e ha i is
he abili y o o e a s ong eeling o p esence and some hing o be pe cei ed
by he senses. Picking he igh , in e es ing loca ions wo h explo ing is also c u-
cial.The hi d impo an ea u e is he possibili y o showing he wo ld om an
al e na i e o complemen a y poin o expe ience. Good- quali y sound and oo age
a e also impo an ac o s o p oduce a sense o p esence and imme sion. Ap o-
duce om he Finnish p oduc ion house Zoan, Lau a Ala s a es:“Sound c ea es
easily a hal o he i ual eali y expe ience. I is a use ul ool in guiding he use s
as i is in eal li e also” (Ala 2019; see also Boswo h & Sa ah 2019, 180– 193).
F om simple o complica ed wo k p ocesses
The consensus in he ield is ha VR ope a ions a e complica ed and expensi e.
This is ue wi h longe p oduc ions, bu one can also s a expe imen s wi h a
lowe budge . Agood way o s a inexpensi ely is o make sho e pieces i s and
hen g adually expand in o mo e complica ed and longe p oduc ions. Fo example,
Eu onews has s a ed o ain i s jou nalis s o shoo 360- deg ee ou inely, wi h only
a sho in oduc ion. (See mo e in Chap e 7.)
Explo ing he imme si e jou nalism landscape 19
The p ocess o making VR s o ies can some imes be e y slow. Howe e , i
need no necessa ily be so. The 360- deg ee li e cas is he as es way o ge con en
published on pla o ms like YouTube o Facebook. The 360- deg ee con en can be
qui e a as way o dissemina e impo an news i he e is a limi ed amoun o pos -
p oduc ion. Fo example, he BBC al eady was able o use 360- deg ee oo age in
epo ing he Ba aclan e o a ack in Pa is 2015. Zillah Wa son and he colleague
ilmed, edi ed, and published he oo age on YouTube and Facebook wi hin hou s
(Wa son 2015).
Ole K ogsgaa d om Eu onews goes agains he cu en wisdom, s a ing ha
in e iews, when p ope ly done, also can be in e es ing con en in 360- deg ees.
Some p ominen VR jou nalis s ha e been a oiding 360- deg ee in e iews, bu
K ogsgaa d hinks ha i can be a good and cos - e ec i e way o expand he spec-
um o 360- deg ee con en . Eu onews has also expe imen ed wi h easy- o- use
edi ing ools like web- based VR edi o Fade o lowe he h eshold o jou nalis s
o s a edi ing mo e complica ed s o ies hemsel es (K ogsgaa d 2017 a,b,c).
The e a e also o he VR s a egies han Eu onews’ “keep i simple and cheap”.
Many o ou in e iewees ha e mos ly been doing longe VR p oduc ions.
Compa ed o documen a ies made o TV, a VR documen a y akes e en mo e
wo k because o he ex a p e- planning and labo ious pos - p oduc ion. Because
he ools and p og ams used a e de eloping apidly and no gene al s anda ds ha e
de eloped ye , a wide a ie y o came as, edi ing echnologies, and p og ams a e
u ilized. Many o he ools used come o iginally om game p oduc ion like Uni y,
a de elopmen pla o m o mul ipla o m games and in e ac i e con en s. Hence,
all kinds o new expe ise and skills a e needed when p oducing he con en o VR.
Some companies make only a ew VR p oduc ions pe yea . Fo example, PBS’s
F on line p og am in he US has adi ionally ocused on in es iga i e s o ies and
documen a ies. In 2015, i s a ed o p oduce VR documen a ies in collabo a ion
wi h VR s udio Emblema ic G oup, unded by he Knigh Founda ion (Wang
2015). In he in e iew, p oduce Benedic Mo an explained ha Emblema ic
G oup has p oduced a couple o en- minu e- long VR documen a ies pe yea
(Mo an 2016). In Sep embe 2019, he F on line websi e con ained 14 360- deg ee
documen a ies; he las (G eenland’s Glacie s A e Mel ing Fas e Than Expec ed) was
published in Sep embe 2018.
Dagens Nyhe e has s a ed wi h a small VR s a and wo ull- ime wo ke s who
ge occasional help om o he sec ions in he news oom. DN s a ed publishing
VR s o ies in Decembe 2016 and has published so a (a Sep embe 2019)20
360- deg ee documen a ies, each las ing om ou o nine minu es.
In conclusion, conce ning he use o s a , much, o cou se, depends on he gen-
e al s a egy and he esou ces. Fo example, Eu onews can make a subs an ial amoun
o 360- deg ee news wi h ela i ely cheap equipmen and sho in oduc ions o
jou nalis s on making 360- deg ee. Con e sely, expensi e documen a ies like hose
by Emblema ic G oup ha e aken mon hs o inish.
The e a e se e al open- ended ques ions o anyone conside ing s a ing a VR
p oduc ion. One subs an ial challenge is how o make con en a ailable o use s. So
20 Esa Si kkunen e al.
a , one can apply se e al s a egies. Anews ou le can c ea e an app o publish VR
con en . This is good in ha he ou le can con ol i s app, which is a mo e s able
pla o m o mo e complex VR p oduc ions, bu bad because i means use s mus
download he app be o e pe using he s o y. The downloading p ocess may be one
hind ance o ge ing people o expe ience he con en .
The news ou le can use al eady- exis ing VR pla o ms like Google’s YouTube
VR, Facebook’s Oculus Ri , Samsung’s Gea VR, he HTC Vi e Headse , o Sony’s
PlayS a ion VR. Thus, making a e sion o each pla o m will add o p oduc ion
cos s. Mo eo e , he pla o ms may ake a sha e o he po en ial e enues de i ed
om, o example, ad e ising connec ed o VR iewing. I is also unclea whe he
he ools o he big pla o ms a e collec ing use da a.
Finnish jou nalis s Ville Juu ilainen and Jussi Pullinen bo h unde sco e ha he
whole p ocess o making VR jou nalism should be based on open s anda ds and
pla o m independence.
Open echnology solu ions ha a e no pa s o la ge ecosys ems a e espe-
cially in he in e es o na ional media companies […] such equipmen and
echnologies ha you can use inside you own sys em wi hou he isk o he
in o ma ion being ans e ed o somewhe e ou side.
Pullinen 2019
Thus a , one o he success ul ways o making jou nalis ic VR is o collabo a e wi h
a pla o m like Samsung Gea VR and ga he sponso s o co e expenses, as The
NewYo k Times does (mo e abou his in Chap e 11).
Acco ding o jou nalism educa o Robe He nandez, he bigges bo leneck
o adap ing VR in news ooms is he cul u e o ea , especially ea o he cos s o
p oducingVR.
The bigges p oblem ha I see s ill is cul u e. No necessa ily accep ing
VR– I hink he e is a lo o accep ance o VR. Bu he e is cul u al ea o
he cos o p oducing VR. And Iencou age news ooms o look a he low-
end came as. To s a p oducing hose expe iences, because he e a e a lo o
hings ha you can lea n in e ms o whe e o place he came a, how o hide
i , placing, aming, ha you can do and lea n on low- end came as be o e you
ge in he high- end came as, be o e you a e going o imme si e expe iences,
so i is no a lo o money o s a . Bu a lo o people ha e ha oadblock:oh
my God, i cos s ens, hund eds, housands o dolla s.
He nandez 2017
“Unlike adi ional s o y elling”
One o ou main indings om he con en analysis has been ha he longe and
mo e de eloped 360- deg ee documen a ies a e mo e e sa ile conce ning na a i e
s uc u e (also Sánchez Laws & U ne 2019). This means ha , while some edi o s