The New York Times Nov. 1 announced a new “visual digital journalism project,” The Daily 360, a newsroom-produced video service that will offer up at least one 360-degree news video a day, via NYTimes.com, the paper’s mobile and virtual reality apps, and the Samsung VR content service.
Samsung is providing Gear 360 cameras and other VR equipment to Times reporters to record the videos, while the New York-based Samsung 837 digital lab promises to open a dedicated space for visitors to watch the videos.
The first video, published Nov. 1, tackles the conflict occurring in Yemen, with footage shot by New York Times photographer Tyler Hicks, and reporting by Middle East correspondent Ben Hubbard.
“From Snowfall to The Upshot to The Displaced, the award-winning VR film that blazed the trail in VR journalism, the Times has been the leader in visual digital storytelling,” said Dean Baquet, executive editor for the paper, in a statement. “Whether the Times is on the campaign trail, the front lines of Aleppo, or in the front row at Fashion Week, The Daily 360 brings you there to bear witness with us.”
Marc Mathieu, chief marketing officer for Samsung Electronics America, added: “Virtual reality storytelling isn't just exciting and immersive, it can forge a lasting and empathetic connection between viewers and subjects. In collaborating with The New York Times, we want Samsung’s innovative products and services to show how coverage of the world's most important stories can be made richer, more useful, and more human when augmented by 360-degree experiences.”
