Parts of immersive technology are starting to enter the news marketplace. Our laboratory at the Annenberg School for Communication, working with IMSC, has begun to test how this technology can be used and what its introduction will mean to news organizations and audiences. Simply put, in some situations, the viewer can be immersed in a news story. The most dramatic examples would be an urban riot, an unfolding natural disaster or a major spectacle, such as the opening of the Olympics or a Presidential Inauguration. The real event would be digitally re-created as a virtual event that surrounds the viewer with a visual, aural and even tactile experience.
Immersive technology puts control of news coverage in the hands of viewers.
They can accept a default perspective picked by a director or they can opt for a different perspective or news experience, placing themselves in alternative parts of an event or even requesting a reporter to get added information. Viewers might first choose which level of presentation they want video, audio, interactive graphics and text, depending on the platform they are using. This technology would also have important applications for the performing arts and for sports. These possibilities put a heavy emphasis on the creation of tools future journalists will need to produce the immersive news experience. Such a news team must be able to assemble the elements of a multi-layered story.