MAPPING IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGIES: THE ROLE OF VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) AND AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) IN CONTEMPORARY JOURNALISTIC PRACTICES

Abstract

This paper evaluates the influence of VR & AR technologies on immersive journalism by looking in-depth at three key use cases: the New York Times’ 360 ° VR documentary The Displaced, BBC’s AR enriched election data overlays, and an investigative VR reconstruction of interviews conducted in a conflict zone. It demonstrates how these tools make spatial storytelling possible  allowing audiences to “stand” inside refugee camps, or crawl around live data visualizations  and the deeper engagement and investigative depth they provide. The paper also touches on two important ethical considerations: the danger of audience manipulation when presenting virtual scenes without identifying them as such and the potential of misinformation due to arbitrary AR overlays that might distort real world occurrences. And lastly, it suggests best practices which include transparent sourcing and on-screen disclaimers to address these potential perils, providing guidelines for responsible use in contemporary journalism.