Immersive journalism: the factors of effective functioning

Abstract

The main approaches to the definition of the “immersive journalism” phenomenon is considered and its working definition is derived. This working definition incorporates both traditional and newest approaches to the structure-forming, technological and functional factors of the production of VR-content. There are the levels of immersion into the story are analyzed on the example of video–360 ° scenes (posted on the official YouTube channel of t The New York Times) in this study. The factors influencing the formation of the system of user preferences are studied. The results of vidIQ analysis of five the most popular immersive scenes are compared and presented. It tried to measure the presence in the virtual environment by the of the Witmer-Singer’s method. The study also used the methodology of actor-network theory and the approaches of Maria-Laure Ryan. The object of study are the most popular vidIQ assessment immersive video of “The New York Times” (2015–2017): “Walking New York”, “The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima”, “The Fight for Falluja”, “Seeking Pluto's Frigid Heart” and “The Displaced” as the one of the most resonant immersive publications. In this empirical material, the components of the VR effect are highlighted: presence, involvement, immersion. Each of the components is built up by the functioning of a few factors from the Witmer-Singer model. It’s determined that the components of the VR effect are not equivalent. The basis of the immersive narration is the effect of presence, supported either by immersion in the storu, or by involvement into the environment. The results indicate that it’s quite difficult to consider the whole complex of factors in the production of journalistic materials. In full, they work in making and consuming of not immersive, but VR-content. For the media, the VR technology is not yet a priority, and therefore they prefer to create a presence effect through the possibilities of influencing the algorithm of narrative deployment and the realism presented environment.

Digital journalism as a new type of media activity

“…Scientific considerations on certain aspects of digital journalism have become a popular trend today. Thus, its epistemology (Ekstro m & Westlund, 2019), interdisciplinarity (Steensen, 2021;Franklin & Canter, 2019), communicative specifics, structural and functional features (Humprecht & Esser, 2018), an adaptation of traditional media production systems have entered the scientific interests of recent years, caused by the demands of the digital age (Kyrylova, 2019a;Pashchenko, 2020;Wirtz, 2020) forecasts for the future (Deuze, 2017), etc. However, this phenomenon requires a constant correlation with the processes that permanently transform the modern digital environment, and adaptation to national situations.…”

«лонґрід» Як Різновид Мультимедійних Текстів

“…Visual communication has evolved into a separate type of web communication with all the attributes of a new genre. Images and verbal concepts create holistic architectonics of visual text characterized by a certain informational intention and semantic content" 4 . Long reads contain all these components, and together with video, audio and interactive elements they create an effective kind of multimedia text that has the potential to compete fully in the world of online journalism.…”

“…), Contemporary landmarks of Ukrainian journalism: from theory to practice: a collection of materials for the 2018 Scientific Conference (Journalism Section), Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Lviv, PAIS, p. 88-90 3. The New York Times, (2009), "Talk to the Times: Assistant Managing Editor Gerald Marzorati", URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/24/business/media/24askthetimes.html?pagewanted=all (accessed 20 November 2019) 4. Yatsymirska, М.…”