Virtual Reality, or VR, has been hailed by many as the breakthrough of the past years and recently it has been more present also in the field of journalism, with several new projects blossoming across the globe, from the United States to Europe.
In order to understand the complex relationship between VR and journalism we talked with Ville Juutilainen, a journalist specialized in data and interactive stories who works on the Plus Team for the Finnish Broadcasting Company, YLE.
So, Ville, is VR the next frontier of journalism? How feasible is it technically, cost-wise and ethically?
Yes, in the sense that the possibilities for virtual worlds and objects in journalism have expanded rapidly. The feasibility depends on what kind of experience one is creating. A photo sphere with a cardboard VR glasses support is very feasible, whereas things like mixed reality – manipulating virtual objects in real space – is something to expect in the future.
What is crucial is the accessibility and policies of the VR ecosystem. Publishing and consuming VR content should eventually be as easy as any other thing on the open web, and users' privacy should be respected.
What are the pros and cons of immersive experiences when it comes to news?
We want people to care, but we are in a tough competition for attention. Immersive news experiences could attract new audiences and make a stronger impact. But there is a possibility that you could go overboard and make content that is emotionally too much to take.
Speaking of which, when does it get too much in your opinion?
I could imagine it would be too much for some people to experience a war zone or a scene of a terrorist attack.
What you have to be conscious about in the making of a VR experience?
Media have guidelines on what kind of footage can be shown on television or in a newspaper, but we do not have much experience on VR. The user cannot take the distance or look away as easily. Controlling the virtual experience is different from cropping a photo or cutting a video.
What could this mean when it comes to telling very charged human stories, like the refugees and migration crisis?
Constructing a virtual environment for a charged story is a big challenge. In case of a 3D reconstruction for example, you would need to be really careful in how the people in the story are depicted.
As for professional ethics it boils down to the same question that journalists in disaster areas or war zones have to ask themselves. How are we helping?
Some say that VR has not yet become the breakthrough of the year and that no one has created a “killer app” and there’s the cost of positional-tracking headsets. What will be the next steps according to you?
We will get more consumer-ready devices and content, like the PlayStation VR, in October. If I had to predict, I would say the first "killer app" will be a blockbuster game. Also we will probably hear something from Apple soon.
Finally, tell us something about the project you are currently working on.
We are planning a project where you could switch between different observers in a virtual space. What makes this kind of work great is that we are not just developing VR, we are also pushing forward our technical skills and encouraging new story forms, which are useful in other projects as well.
