Journalism 360 No. 6: First Unconference, Virtual Investigation, Pop-up Screening

By on July 13, 2018

Welcome back to the Journalism 360 newsletter! The first-ever Journalism 360 Unconference + Demo Night is coming up on July 24-25 in New York City. It’s the only conference of its kind to focus on newsroom practices and innovations within virtual, augmented and mixed reality, as well as 360 video.

With less than two weeks to go, the team has been busy finalizing the program and getting ready to set up immersive pieces. From demos to Table Talks and more, there will be many ways for attendees to learn and connect. Visit the event page to check out an updated overview of the schedule.

Tickets are still available for the Demos + Drinks event on July 24. A waitlist is available for the unconference on July 25.

Noteworthy

Virtual investigation. The New York Times collaborated with Forensic Architecture to investigate a chemical attack in Syria. They used 3D modeling in augmented reality and virtual reality to analyze the site and identified evidence that proved the bomb was dropped from a Syrian military helicopter, not placed by the rebels as Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad had claimed.

Take it from Thomas. VR editor of Euronews and Journalism 360 ambassador Thomas Seymat shared insights into the state of immersive storytelling in the newsrooms and why journalists should experiment with immersive technology.

Pop-up in Lagos. “More often than not, the people impacted by issues covered in the documentaries have very few opportunities to watch the virtual reality film.” ContrastVR is experimenting with pop-up, public screenings in Lagos. The first pop-up features the documentary “Oil in Our Creeks,” which explores the environmental impact of a Shell Oil pipeline burst in Bodo City, Nigeria.

Conversations with data. Journalism 360 ambassadors participated in a Q&A for the European Journalism Centre’s newsletter on data-driven journalism. Readers asked about getting started in immersive storytelling, common mistakes beginners make and immersive data visualizations — and they delivered.

Reflecting on progress. Narrative technologist Henry Keyser wrote about the past, present and future of immersive journalism. His examples highlight the fast-paced progress of immersive in news — from early pieces like a 360 photo of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina created in 2005 by Zach Wise to Alexey Furman’s recent experiments combining 360 video with photogrammetry for coverage of the Ukrainian Euromaidan revolution. (Both Zach and Alexey had projects selected as winners of the 2017 Journalism 360 Challenge.)

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

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Karolle Rabarison

Karolle Rabarison is ONA's Director of Communications. She collaborates across the team to connect the journalism community to emerging tech and leadership training, networking, industry trends, and career development resources.