Conclusion

In this report, the authors have aimed to share insights and lessons which will be useful to a new field, in a new industry. Some of those may seem daunting. Readers may, when reviewing the case study, balk at the costs, the complexity, and the conceptual shifts. But we strongly advocate that readers keep in mind this medium’s astounding potential for journalism, as well as the fact that we are in its very early days. We invite those who haven’t already used VR to find a headset—even one of the cheapest—and immerse themselves in the powerful works of virtual reality. It important to stress that this is a medium in rapid development, with a rush of Silicon Valley-energy fueling a period of innovation in the entertainment industry. The technology being built is tailored to the film, gaming, and sports entertainment worlds. Journalism is, and will remain, a minor cog in this emerging ecosystem. This, in our view, makes it even more vital for journalists to jump in and experiment, and to help develop VR technologies and processes that suit our needs and benefit our audiences. Over the course of this project, we have seen this begin to happen. Even in the final days when this report was being edited, the authors discovered new journalistic virtual reality works in production. We expect that in another year’s time, even more producers will have tackled the medium; we hope some of them will have read our work and found it valuable. We will be watching closely as new communities of research and practice form, and help journalistic virtual reality thrive.