philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Virtual reality in journalism the focus of new FRONTLINE partnership with Emblematic Group supported by $580,000 from Knight Foundation

FRONTLINE, the acclaimed PBS investigative documentary series, will expand its exploration of virtual reality in journalism, creating new immersive experiences and developing lessons for the emerging field with $580,000 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Working in collaboration with Emblematic Group, FRONTLINE, produced at WGBH in Boston, will spend 18 months experimenting with and developing best practices for immersive journalism. The team will build at least three virtual reality projects, examining the technical, ethical and procedural issues raised by this rapidly evolving medium.

It is the first collaboration between the documentary powerhouse FRONTLINE, which has been crafting cinematic films on complex issues for more than three decades and recently released the virtual reality documentary “Ebola Outbreak: A Virtual Journey,” and the pioneering Emblematic Group, whose CEO Nonny de la Peña first launched the field of immersive virtual reality storytelling eight years ago. An award-winning documentary filmmaker, de la Peña is a former correspondent for Newsweek magazine and has written for The New York Times and other major news organizations.

See the full story here: http://www.knightfoundation.org/press-room/press-release/virtual-reality-journalism-focus-new-frontline-par/

and here: http://www.knightfoundation.org/blogs/knightblog/2015/12/17/how-knight-helping-frontline-and-emblematic-group-chart-future-virtual-reality-journalism/