Journalism 360 No. 3: Grants For Immersive Projects, Measuring Empathy, Tips For 360

Welcome to the Journalism 360 newsletter! Here we share stories and resources for immersive journalism and updates on the Journalism 360 initiative. Have ideas for what we should include in a future issue? Write to newsletter@journalists.org.

Most exciting news this issue: The 2018 Journalism 360 Challenge is now open! 

We’re looking for ideas to help develop and expand best practices in immersive journalism, including for narratives, ethics and production. Ten winners will receive grants of up to $20,000 each to build out early-stage projects experimenting with any form of immersive storytelling — including but not limited to virtual, augmented and mixed reality, as well as 360 video. We’re thrilled to hold the challenge for a second year and look forward to discovering fresh ideas for immersive storytelling from around the world.

Start your application →

Noteworthy

Social VR meets news. Ivan Lajara has been experimenting with using Facebook Spaces for news, including weather events and sports. “The possibilities are (not quite) endless.”

Metrics for empathy. There’s a lot of hype about VR as a tool to create empathy, but how do storytellers know it’s working? Dan Archer walks through efforts to devise a measurement for empathy in adults viewing 360 videos, as well as insights on the relationships between empathetic response, immersion level, viewer (dis)comfort and format.

The Deported. The latest project from JOVRNALISM students is a five-part, immersive series documenting the lives of people deported from the United States. The project won a grant from ONA’s Challenge Fund for Innovation in Journalism Education in 2017.

Tipsheet. The Pocket Field Guide to 360 Video Storytelling offers practical tips, workflows, examples and other resources to get started in immersive journalism.

Community updates

• On May 30, at the Global Editors Network Summit, Journalism 360 hosted a happy hour in Lisbon’s Pátio da Galé to celebrate the kick off of the 2018 grant challenge. We also teamed up with Chicas Poderosas to host a dinner with immersive journalists from around the world. Thanks to all who participated in the spirited conversation with Journalism 360 ambassadors, including Spherica’s Alina Mikhaleva, Euronews’ Thomas Seymat and 2017 Journalism 360 Challenge winner Oscar Marin Miro.
• Journalism 360 Director Laura Hertzfeld was a guest on the latest episode of It’s All Journalism, sharing her journey in journalism and why she’s so excited about expanding immersive storytelling in news.
• Reminder: Submit your immersive projects to the Online Journalism Awards by June 7, 11:59 p.m. ET.

We always welcome feedback, links and other inputs to future issues. Send your tips to newsletter@journalists.org.

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