Abstract
Extended reality (XR) has great possibilities for the development and dissemination of multimedia content. One of the areas where extended reality can have a significant impact is in the field of journalism within information and communication sciences. In this chapter, the authors determine the features of current XR media, including virtual reality and augmented reality and their application in the teaching of journalism. This review shows that XR technology can serve to capture reality, simulate it, and recreate fictional scenarios. From 360º video to volumetric video, from artificial intelligence to deep learning, the extended reality is reshaping how rigorous communication research is conducted and how scientific results are crafted for public audiences. Therefore, from the analysis of these available technologies and their potential evolution, this chapter establishes the key features of a learning laboratory for immersive journalism. The authors conclude by showing how XR can open new space for journalism teaching and research.
TopIntroduction
In recent years, extended reality (XR) technologies and media have revolutionized the design and dissemination of interactive and immersive content for journalism and for education. This chapter reviews some of these new developments and then proposes a novel curriculum for training journalists and communication professionals in the creation of transmedia stories, immersive experiences, and interactive storytelling using XR tools (Bösch et al., 2018). The proposed actions will be carried out at the new XR Journalism Lab, which will support the master’s degree program in Journalistic Investigation, New Narratives, Data, Fact-checking and Transparency offered by the University of Rey Juan Carlos (Spain) in collaboration with the Maldita.es, a non-profit foundation fighting against misinformation. The lab will support creative content development and experimental training from analytical perspectives. It will also promote professional transformation, critical analysis of professional practices, and the use of XR to facilitate the transfer of new knowledge. Together, scholars and students will design and test new audio-visual and multimedia products for investigative and data journalism based on XR environments (virtual, augmented, and mixed).
The methodological proposal includes a comprehensive process for applying the principles of educational action research (Lewin, 1946; Adelman, 1993) and active learning models (Goyette and Lessard, 1988) to XR. It is, in short, a process of learning by experimenting with formats drawn from XR technologies, applying them to research projects, and evaluating their application in real professional contexts. The rest of this chapter proposes the complete didactic process, beginning with an overview of the basic principles of XR in recent journalism practice followed by a review of current techniques and technologies often used. We then describe the challenges and opportunities for using XR to disseminate scientific findings. Our proposal for the XR Lab includes a table that describes and analyses the different genres of XR journalism. In our conclusion, we review the interventions and propose further lines of research.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Immersive Journalism: Journalism applying extended reality technologies, specifically virtual reality, to improve the degree of digital information received by the user. The main senses for increasing the immersivity are sight and hearing, but not only. They may be many senses involved to increase the degree of immersive experience in user.
Volumetric Video: It consists of capturing a sequence of images or film footage of a person or other element of the physical world to recreate it in a 3D environment with digital technologies. There are different 3D capture technologies, such as scanners or cameras with multiple lenses. What is important is the fact that the movement and actions are captured and reproduced in that digital 3D space. Sometimes components such as chroma keys are used.
Extended Reality Lab: Media Lab which focus their research on extended reality technologies, in many approaches. They may focus their research on the development of new technologies (software, devices, etc.), in one hand, but it has also many other approaches, such as the application of the technologies in fields such as sciences, communication science, art, design, architecture, and others. Other approaches are to develop case uses and improve user experiences, as well as integrate content developed under narrative structures to improve the experience.
Extended Reality: The ensemble of digital technologies which represent different levels of reality, from real-physical world to virtual reality. Digital media combines different levels and layers of information.
Immersive Media: Media which are developed to be consumed in devices such as HMD (head-mounted displays) and providing an immersive experience, essentially through the senses of sight and hearing. Other senses are also involved, and it’s relevant the body position, which contributes to determine the feeling of presence, and, thus, the immersive experience. Other senses may be also involved in the feeling of immersiveness, but further research is necessary to determine which role are playing.
Augmented Information: Journalism, in the medium of XR, may represent information in many layers, taking always into account the origin of the information: the facts. Nevertheless, XR technologies give us the possibility to expand the information in a specific environment, as augmented reality works. This augmented information may be represented over the real world (so called augmented reality) or in other formats, such as a 360 (immersive or not) video. This layer of information will help to complement the information received by the user.
Immersive Infographics: It consists of the creation of infographics in immersive environments, mainly of an interactive nature. The approach to data visualisation must be carried out in a completely different way to how they are visualised on 2D screens. There are different variables that will influence this, such as the user's point of view (their position in space with respect to the elements to be represented), the nature of the data to be represented, and the need to represent it in an immersive and interactive environment. The construct of the experience will also have a narrative associated with it, always bearing in mind the highest possible degree of objectivity of the data.