Proposal: Application Of Virtual Reality in News Presentation for Remote Working
Module: Transforming Journalism
In the contemporary journalism scenario, it is observed that a rapid transformation is on the go, and it is shaped by evolving technologies and changing consumer preferences. On the other hand, after the COVID 19 hit the world population, not only the hospitality industry or any other industry, but the journalism industry has been affected severely, where tonnes of journalists have taken risks of their life to present news updates (Adu-Manu et al., 2023). Not only that, the traditional news outlets are continuously facing challenges to adapt to digital era, where information is instantaneously disseminated through various online platforms. Utilising the digital landscape has become an imperative fact that provides dynamic of audience engagement and storytelling methods that helps in shifting the news organisation to a new height of success and growth.
In the advent of remote working culture, it is accelerated that these transformations within the journalism industry are not an exception, while journalists once mount to newsrooms are now dispersed geographically, bringing both opportunities and challenges to the industry. Remote work offers flexibility, but introduces concerns about cooperation, communication and maintaining journalistic standards (Alex et al., 2023). As newsroom grapple with these shifts, there are growing needs for solutions that enhance remote collaborations, foster creativity and maintain the quality of news delivery. Therefore, virtual reality emerges as a powerful tool with transformative potential. And the technology can bridge the geographical gaps created by remote work, offering a novel way to journalism by collaborating, creating and presenting news stories (Buckingham, 2021). Therefore, a detailed exploration of the application of virtual reality into the news presentation could be a new paradigm to explore while evaluating the challenges posed by the remote working culture in the same context could be assimilated.
The journalism industry is navigating a profound shift with the widespread adoption of remote working culture, but challenging the traditional newsroom structures and impacting collaborating processes. Journalists working remotely face hurdles in maintaining effective communication, fostering creativity and upholding the standards of news production (Chutisant Kerdvibulvech, 2023). The research problem is the lack of proper explanation of virtual reality application in the context of news presentation by journalist who work remotely.
The rational for the research lies in the urgent need to address the evolving dynamics of journalism in the context of remote work. On the other hand, as news organisations grapple with the applications of disperse teams, there is a critical gap in understanding how emerging technologies, particularly VR, can offer innovative solutions. By exploding the transformative potential of VR in news presentation within remote work setting (Chutisant Kerdvibulvech, 2023). This research aims to contribute valuable insights that can guide newsrooms in adapting to the changing landscape effectively.
The aim of the research Is to investigate and evaluate the application on virtual reality in news presentation as a means to facilitate and enhance remote work experience for journalists.
Research objectives:
· To assess the current challenges faced by journalists working remotely in maintaining effective communication, collaboration and news production standards.
· To explore the transformative potential of virtual reality technology in addressing the identified challenges and enhancing remote working experiences for journalists.
· To provide practical recommendations for news organizations on the implementation of virtual reality in news presentation for remote work.
· What are the primary challenges journalists encounter when working remotely?
· How can virtual reality technologies be effectively integrated to address the challenges faced by remote journalists?
· What practical strategies and guidelines can be proposed for news organizations to integrate virtual reality into their remote working structure?
Virtual reality has been a subject of increasing interest in the realm of journalism, as García-Avilés, (2021) find it the nest suited practice to implement in the contemporary ideas. Pavlik, (2020) focused on the immersive nature of a virtual reality and its capacity to transform the news concerns and experience. On the other hand, Morotti et al., (2021) demonstrated the VR enabled audiences to engage with new stories in a more visceral and impactful manner, fostering a deeper connection with information presented. However, Okwu and Okorie, (2023) discussed that the majority of audiences experience, rather than the practical applications of wear within a newsroom. Therefore, the virtual reality has a significant role to play in journalism to address the challenges of journalists who work remotely and the changing landscape of traditional newsroom practices as well.
Orel, (2022), highlighted the examination of remote working in journalism and the application of VR outside of journalism provides insight into the transformative potential. On the other hand, industries such as healthcare, education and gaming have successfully integrated VR to enhance training stimulation and immersive experiences. For example, in medical training, we are allowing practitioners to stimulate surgeries and procedure, providing a safe and realistic environment for skill development. Pavlik, (2020) discussed in case of journalism, the adoption of VR is particularly pertinent in the era of remote working. On the other hand, remote teams need to incorporate tools that go beyond traditional video conferencing tool, recreate the sense of presence and collaboration found in physical newsrooms (Wen and Gheisari, 2020). In that context virtual reality offers an immersive platform that can facilitate real time collaboration and creative interactions, enabling journalists to work together seamlessly, regardless of their geographical locations.
Yang and Lee, (2021) discussed here the context of remote working and the need of virtual reality in terms of enhancing the possibility of future journalism from a remote area order separate geographical location without compromising the visual aids. It is mainly addressed to highlight the challenges faced by news teams who work remotely while the communication tools that comes under traditional news presentation often false sort in replicating the spontaneous and collaborative nature of Indiana person interactions (Yang and Lee, 2021). VR through its immersive features. Has the potential to recreate the newsroom experience virtually, fostering a sense of shared space and enhancing the overall collaborative dynamics.
Moreover, the visual interactive nature of VR aliens well with the visual storytelling aspects of journalism while journalism can utilize vr to present new stories in a more engaging and impactful manner, breaking away from the constraint of traditional two-dimensional mediums (Yaqoob et al., 2023). This shift is crucial in an era where audience engagement is increasingly competitive and immersive experiences can set news outlets apart.
Chutisant Kerdvibulvech, (2023), Virtual Reality offers remote workers in journalism, a novel avenue to present news in ways that were previously unexplored. Firstly, VR allowed for the creation of immersive news experiences, enabling journalists to transport audiences to the heart of a story, whether it be a war zone, a cultural event or a scientific discovery. This level of immersion goes beyond what conventional reporting mediums can achieve, offering a unique and engaging perspective. On the other hand, Buhalis et al., (2023) highlights the factors related to the VR facilities that are collaborative in storytelling, allowing remote journalists to work together in a shared virtual space. Search collaborative aspects is vital for presenting complex or multifaceted news stories, which requires expertise of multiple journalists. Virtual reality not only breaks down geographical barriers, but also enables a seamless change of ideas and contributions in reaching the overall narrative.
Based on the above discussion the literature gap needs to be identified in terms of the lack of literature on weird journalism and how it is implemented in the concept of remote working as well. On the other hand, the most of the studies are focused on experiential side of consumers, rather than addressing the needs of journalists who face challenges in the context of remote work sitting (Buhalis et al., 2023). Most importantly, the literary lacks comprehensive insight into specific features and functionalities that would make VR a practical and efficient tool for remote news teams.
And this is the most important chapter of the entire proposal, where the methods and techniques will be carried out to comprehensively explore the application of virtual reality in journalism and exploratory design will be employed. This approach allows for in depth investigation into real world scenario, enabling a clear understanding of the challenges and opportunities presented by the integration of VR in remote news environments (Cahoon, 2021). On the other hand, multiple cases from the participant’s point of view will be examined to ensure a diverse and holistic exploration of the research questions at the same time.
On the other hand, the interpretivism research philosophy is aptly chosen for this study, as it seeks to understand and interpret the subjective experiences and meaning attributed to the integration of VR in journalism. By acknowledging the unique perspectives of journalists, via developers and newsroom managers, interpretivism aligns with the qualitative nature of the research, emphasizing the social construction of reality within the context of remote work in journalism (Goddard and Melville, 2020). In terms of identifying the research approach, the study has focused on adopting inductive research approach, which is chosen in order to explore the emerging themes and patterns from the data. This approach will help in exploring the nature of the study, enabling the generation of insights and theories grounded in the experience and perspective of participants (Kruger and Mitchell, 2019). Most importantly, the iterative process of data collection and analysis, which contribute to the development of a clear understanding of the application of VR in Journalism especially within the framework of remote work.
The data collection here is considered to be collected from primary data sources, where the qualitative data analysis will be carried out at the same time. In relation to collect the primary data, the scheduled concentrate on conducting a closed ended interview with selected group of participants, where five interview questions will be asked to the participants belonging from different job roles, like journalism, VR developers, newsroom managers and so on (Kruger and Mitchell, 2019). With the help of pervasive sampling technique, the research would Approach five respondents related to their respective fields in order to gather information about the application of VR in the journalism and how remote working can be enhanced in terms of both addressing the challenge of journalist and also providing a visually pleasing presentation of news.
The data analysis will be carried out in terms of thematic analysis and the comparative analysis While as the interview questions would aim at extracting data regarding the current scenario of Applying virtual reality into journalism and the challenges it would address for remote working journalists at the same time. On the other hand, the codes and themes will be extracted from the responses of the participants and thematic analysis will be done as well. On the other hand, the comparative analysis will also be conducted between the different VR tools and the challenges of remote journalism in order to evaluate the features usability and impact of various VR applications within the context of news presentation (Cahoon, 2021). This will help in generating a clear finding or answer to the research questions while providing the identification of best practices and potential areas for improvement in existing VR solutions.
The ethical considerations are important to be incorporated here as the primary data collection would involve interview interactions with participants. Therefore, it is important to deliver the purpose of conducting the interview before initiating the data collection. Apart from this, All the participants should be given the liberty to do their participation at any point of time, if they are not comfortable in answering any of the questions. The responses will be recorded in a documented format and with a tape recorder while the responses will also be transcribed and kept understood supervision till the research work is completed (Cahoon, 2021). In this manner, the confidentiality of the data and the respondents will be maintained while enhancing the standard of the research work at the same time.
In order to complete the research work, the following timeline would be maintained which is presented with the helper below Gantt chart.
Adu-Manu, K.S., Koranteng, G.A. and Brown, S.N.A. (2023). Perspective Chapter: 5G Enabling Technologies – Revolutionizing Transport, Environment, and Health. [online] www.intechopen.com. Available at: https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/87181.
Alex, K., Vrushank, S. and Sita, R. (2023). Handbook of Research on AI-Based Technologies and Applications in the Era of the Metaverse. [online] Google Books. IGI Global. Available at: https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=uFDNEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=Revolutionizing+News+Presentation:+The+Application+of+Virtual+Reality+in+Facilitating+Remote+Work&ots=5CgwyWNNLN&sig=udoAyCjFO_NAagTFDhjWySKLLyg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false [Accessed 12 Jan. 2024].
Buckingham, G. (2021). Hand Tracking for Immersive Virtual Reality: Opportunities and Challenges. Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 2. doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2021.728461.
Buhalis, D., Leung, D. and Lin, M. (2023). Metaverse as a disruptive technology revolutionising tourism management and marketing. Tourism Management, [online] 97(104724), p.104724. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2023.104724.
Cahoon, M.C. (2021). Research methodology. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.
Chutisant Kerdvibulvech (2023). A Digital Human Emotion Modeling Application Using Metaverse Technology in the Post-COVID-19 Era. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pp.480–489. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35748-0_33.
Dimitris Mourtzis, Angelopoulos, J. and Panopoulos, N. (2023). Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) path planning and control assisted by Augmented Reality (AR): the case of indoor drones. International Journal of Production Research , pp.1–22. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2023.2232470.
García-Avilés, J.A. (2021). Journalism as usual? Managing disruption in virtual newsrooms during the COVID-19 crisis. Digital Journalism, 9(9), pp.1–22. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2021.1942112.
Goddard, W. and Melville, S. (2020). Research Methodology. 2nd ed. Kenwyn, South Africa: Juta & Co., Repr.
Kruger, F. and Mitchell, B. (2019). Research methodology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Morotti, E., Stacchio, L., Donatiello, L., Roccetti, M., Tarabelli, J. and Marfia, G. (2021). Exploiting fashion x-commerce through the empowerment of voice in the fashion virtual reality arena. Virtual Reality. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10055-021-00602-6.
Okwu, E. and Okorie, U.U. (2023). Strategic Assessment of Academic Library Engagements in Virtual Reality Technology: The Prospects and Strategies. Information Horizons: American Journal of Library and Information Science Innovation (2993-2777), [online] 1(6), pp.36–44. Available at: https://grnjournal.us/index.php/AJLISI/article/view/677 [Accessed 12 Jan. 2024].
Orel, M. (2022). Collaboration Potential in Virtual Reality (VR) Office Space: Transforming the Workplace of Tomorrow. [online] Google Books. Springer Nature. Available at: https://books.google.co.in/books?hl=en&lr=&id=NamAEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=Revolutionizing+News+Presentation:+The+Application+of+Virtual+Reality+in+Facilitating+Remote+Work&ots=FhVT1iIgpC&sig=qwn3Uchde0bPkzJKqMb3t5di3no&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false [Accessed 12 Jan. 2024].
Pavlik, J.V. (2020). Drones, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Journalism: Mapping Their Role in Immersive News Content. Media and Communication, 8(3), pp.137–146. doi:https://doi.org/10.17645/mac.v8i3.3031.
Wen, J. and Gheisari, M. (2020). Using virtual reality to facilitate communication in the AEC domain: a systematic review. Construction Innovation, 20(3), pp.509–542. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/ci-11-2019-0122.
Yang, E.K. and Lee, J.H. (2021). Classifying virtual reality-based collaboration environments: practical insights for application in fashion design. International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education, pp.1–11. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/17543266.2021.1938701.
Yaqoob, I., Salah, K., Jayaraman, R. and Omar, M. (2023). Metaverse applications in smart cities: Enabling technologies, opportunities, challenges, and future directions. Internet of Things, [online] 23, p.100884. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iot.2023.100884.
