Back to Fukushima: Perceptions and effects of an immersive journalism story

Abstract

News media organizations have been experimenting with immersive journalism formats in recent years. The search fornew ways to tell stories is driven by technology and has given rise to new –and not so new– forms of expression. The initial enthusiasm has dissipated over the years, so the uncertainty of the future of immersive journalism justifies the studyof the most potential ways of using this technology in journalism. This research was carried out in Finland and Spain, andit is based on a textual narrative analysis and a reception study comparing the online article and 360º video versions ofthe report Fukushima: Contaminated Lives from El país. The results identify the affordances of both formats and confirmthat immersive journalism has the capacity to generate a greater emotional effect based on a greater perception of presence, realism and involvement, also having a positive impact on increasing interest and changing opinions on relatedtopics. The narration of online article seems to work better only if there is large amount of information that has to be understood and contextualized. However, authors claim that, instead of an essential break, there are similarities betweenboth formats, which are situated on the same continuum of emotionality and rationality. These findings also indicatethat immersive storytelling can be an important part of the emotional or affective turn in contemporary journalism. Thesensation of presence and empathy towards distant and complex realities emerge as the main distinguishing values ofthe kind of immersive journalism that Fukushima: Contaminated lives represents.