Journalism 360 No. 29: Visualizing Air Pollution, March On Washington, Virtual Conferences

By on March 6, 2020

Noteworthy

Comparing cities’ air pollution. A project by The New York Times that incorporates AR experience and data visualization of air pollution was honored in the 2020 Sigma Awards category for best visualization, large newsroom.

Equality and The March. An immersive exhibit of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, a collaboration between TIME and producer Viola Davis, is on view through November 2020 at the Dusable Museum of African American History in Chicago. The exhibit was created in conjunction with TIME’s special issue on Equality, which highlights reflections from writers, leaders and activists on the state of equality in the U.S.

Agency and shared experience. “In the case of journalistic VR, creating stories where the audience can feel like part of the news gathering … could make for an utterly captivating experience,” writes Ryerson University School of Journalism professor Adrian Ma, in a look at what reporters and other nonfiction storytellers can learn from 360-graphic novels.

Q&A with Thomas Seymat. Journalism 360 ambassador Thomas Seymat earned spotlight in the weekly newsletter by Gather, a project supporting engagement journalists dedicated to making news that’s responsive to the public’s needs.

Conferences in VR. A string of conference cancellations and postponements due to the coronavirus outbreak has sparked conversations about how industries, from tech to journalism to education, can adapt via immersive gatherings in VR and AR. Notably IEEE’s VR 2020 conference, where the world’s VR researchers converge, is among the events that will now be held online for free.

Meeting platforms. WXR Fund’s Amy LaMeyer pulled together a list of eight resources for meeting using VR and AR.

Surveying the market. While there is limited data to create a full picture of how well virtual reality headsets are selling, recent reports from Steam suggest an upswing, pointing to a strong growth in VR hardware use two months in a row.

Look for the next issue of this newsletter on April 3. We always welcome your comments, links and other inputs to future issues. Send tips to karolle@journalists.org.

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