Journalism isn’t just about telling a story, but also how it’s presented, how people view, and immerse themselves in it. There are already numerous technologies that can be used to give the audiences new ways to relate to the news.
The thing is, there are still technical and ethical issues that revolve around these technologies. And this is why Google, has decided to start with the Journalism 360 Challenge Grants. Done with a partnership with the Knight Foundation and the Online News Association, the grant provides funds for projects that offer the best potential to advance the field of immersive storytelling for journalism.
The grant open to global entries and various types of participants: From Journalists, Content Creators, Developers, or Educators. Each individual may apply for up to a $35,000.
Google News Lab aims to empower journalists to embrace storytelling through training, community building, and product development. With Journalism 360, they can learn more about its application, experiment with new technology, and share ideas and best practices with each other.
The Challenge opened last March 10 and will close this April 10 at 11:59 PM ET. After the submission period, entries will then be evaluated, ideas will be selected, and the lucky winners will embark on their projects. Here are some questions that applicants may want to tackle:
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Ideas that make use of mixed reality, virtual reality, augmented reality and 360-degree video to engage audiences.
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Ideas that can provide best practices for replication and iteration across the field.
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Ideas that help democratize immersive storytelling tools and methods for news organizations.
In the meantime, Journalism 360 will host a series of events (both In-Person and Virtual) to answer questions. For a list of these events, click here. The FAQ may also be of help. For more updates, you may follow @Journalism_360 on Twitter.
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
