Analysis of the immersive social content feature in the spanish news media

Abstract

Introduction. This paper delves into the immersive feature covering social issues, a content that can be observed back in the very beginnings of immersive journalism. Methodology. To do so, we have conducted a content analysis based on exhaustive review on the topic and on the viewing of more than 1,000 pieces of this kind. The corpus is made up of 347 features published by Spanish news outlets during the last three years (2015-2017). Results. Features covering social issues represent a small percentage of the total sample. The comparative study on the use of several immersive techniques does not show significant differences between these features and other covering different issues. Conclusions. Although 360º video technology offers great potential to connect the viewer with unfair realities and thus raise awareness about its seriousness, it seems appropriate to continue researching on the psychological impact of the several narrative techniques in order to take full advantage of this huge potential.