The Use of VR in Journalism

Abstract

After games, education, health, and military training, virtual reality (VR) conquered journalism, too. During the last several years, more and more journalists decide to experiment with the new technology, while some media organizations, like BBC, have dedicated departments for its development. Still, like any innovation, VR brought many opportunities, but also as many challenges (or maybe even more). Besides putting the audience in the middle of the event and increasing credibility, the use of VR for journalistic production also means new skills, new responsibilities towards the audience, and issues related to distribution of the products. This chapter starts with necessary definitions and background research, and then presents three opportunities and three challenges of the use of VR in journalism, finishing with further research suggestions as a conclusion.