360º AUDIOVISUAL JOURNALISM: a study on user perceptions of sense of presence and credibility

LIMA, LUCIELLEN SOUZA; BARBOSA, SUZANA OLIVEIRA

doi:10.25200/BJR.v19n2.2023.1553

LUCIELLEN SOUZA LIMA

conception and design of the study

foundation

methodological procedures

empical research

writing of the text

review and approve the final version of the article

Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador – BA – Brazil

LUCIELLEN SOUZA LIMA She holds a Ph.D. in Contemporary Communication and Culture (PósCom) at the Faculty of Communication at the Federal University of Bahia (FACOM | UFBA). Master in Journalism at the Federal University of Paraíba (PPJ/UFPB). She works as a Communicologist at the State University of Paraíba (UEPB). She is researcher of the Online Journalism Research Group (GJOL). E-mail: luciellensouzalima@gmail.com

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5600-0785

SUZANA OLIVEIRA BARBOSA

advisor of this doctoral research

she participated in general discussions and acted in monitoring the stages of the research

including the foundation

methodological design and empirical research

review and approval of the final version of the article

Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador – BA – Brazil

SUZANA OLIVEIRA BARBOSA Associate Professor at the Department of Communication and permanent professor at the Graduate Program in Contemporary Communication and Culture (PósCom) at the Faculty of Communication at the Federal University of Bahia (FACOM | UFBA). She is researcher and current coordinator of the Online Journalism Research Group (GJOL) at the same institution. She is Coordinator of the project #AcesseJOR: social innovation protocol for digital journalism (Call CNPq/MCTI/FNDCT No.18/2021 - Faixa A). She is the coordinator of the Journalism Studies WG of Compós (National Association of Graduate Programs in Communication). E-mail: suzana.barbosa@gmail.com

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3109-7637

Desk Review Editor: Paulo Nuno Gouveia Vicente

LUCIELLEN SOUZA LIMA

She holds a Ph.D. in Contemporary Communication and Culture (PósCom) at the Faculty of Communication at the Federal University of Bahia (FACOM | UFBA). Master in Journalism at the Federal University of Paraíba (PPJ/UFPB). She works as a Communicologist at the State University of Paraíba (UEPB). She is researcher of the Online Journalism Research Group (GJOL). E-mail: luciellensouzalima@gmail.com

SUZANA OLIVEIRA BARBOSA

Associate Professor at the Department of Communication and permanent professor at the Graduate Program in Contemporary Communication and Culture (PósCom) at the Faculty of Communication at the Federal University of Bahia (FACOM | UFBA). She is researcher and current coordinator of the Online Journalism Research Group (GJOL) at the same institution. She is Coordinator of the project #AcesseJOR: social innovation protocol for digital journalism (Call CNPq/MCTI/FNDCT No.18/2021 - Faixa A). She is the coordinator of the Journalism Studies WG of Compós (National Association of Graduate Programs in Communication). E-mail: suzana.barbosa@gmail.com

Questions
1) How old are you and what is your profession or main occupation?
2) Talk about what you felt while consuming the report in terms of both your feelings and sensations.
3) Speaking to your contact with this format (which allows you to look around and choose the viewing angle), what positive aspects, if any, can you identify when comparing it to conventional video?
4) What negative aspects, if any, can you identify?
5) Did you have any difficulties understanding the audio while viewing the images and looking around? Can you describe your experience?
6) How did you feel about the environments in the report? Did they produce different sensations or were they similar to the environments you see on television?
7) If you had seen this report on television in conventional video format do you think you would have understood the issue just the same? In other words, does the ability to look around the environment make you think differently about the content? Do you think it is basically the same as conventional TV video?
8) Do you think this is a good tool for journalism? Why?
9) Was there anything about this video format that made you feel uncomfortable or generated any cause for concern in terms of the ethics or credibility of the journalistic material you consumed?
10) How do you think this type of consumption would fit, or not, into your news consumption routine?
11) How do you currently consume your news?

Questions	Measures	Foundation
1) I felt like I was in the story as it unfolded in the report. 2) It was as if I had been temporarily transported to the place where the news report took place. 3) It felt like the people and objects in the report were actually around me.	Sense of “being there”	Jennett et al. (2008)Jennett, C., Cox, A., Cairns, P., Dhoparee, S., Epps, A., Tijs, T., & Walton, A. (2008). Measuring and defining the experience of immersion in games. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 66, 641-661. DOI:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2008.04.004 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2008.04.... ; Kang et al. (2018)Kang, S., O’Brien, E., Villarreal, A., Lee, W., & Mahood, C. (2018). Immersive Journalism and Telepresence. Digital Journalism, 7(2), 294-313. DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2018.1504624 https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2018.15... ; Sundar et al. (2017)Sundar, S., Kang, J., & Oprean, D. (2017). How Immersive Journalism Affects Our Perceptions and Cognitions. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20(11), 672-682. DOI:10.1089/cyber.2017.0271 https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2017.0271... ; Vettehen et al. (2019)Vettehen, P., Wiltink, D., Huiskamp, M., Schaap, G., & Ketelaar, P. (2019). Taking the full view: how viewers respond to 360-degree video News. Computers in Human Behavior, 91, 24-32. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2018.09.018 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.09.01... .
4) I felt like I was participating in the story. 5) There were times when I felt I was actually interacting with the characters in the report. 6) It seemed like the characters in the report were aware of my presence.	Interaction	Jennett et al. (2008)Jennett, C., Cox, A., Cairns, P., Dhoparee, S., Epps, A., Tijs, T., & Walton, A. (2008). Measuring and defining the experience of immersion in games. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 66, 641-661. DOI:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2008.04.004 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2008.04.... ; Sundar et al. (2017)Sundar, S., Kang, J., & Oprean, D. (2017). How Immersive Journalism Affects Our Perceptions and Cognitions. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20(11), 672-682. DOI:10.1089/cyber.2017.0271 https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2017.0271... ; Vettehen et al. (2019)Vettehen, P., Wiltink, D., Huiskamp, M., Schaap, G., & Ketelaar, P. (2019). Taking the full view: how viewers respond to 360-degree video News. Computers in Human Behavior, 91, 24-32. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2018.09.018 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.09.01... .
7) The places, people, and objects I saw in the report seemed real. 8) The events in the report seemed to actually be happening around me.	Realism	Sundar et al. (2017)Sundar, S., Kang, J., & Oprean, D. (2017). How Immersive Journalism Affects Our Perceptions and Cognitions. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20(11), 672-682. DOI:10.1089/cyber.2017.0271 https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2017.0271... .
9) It felt like I was actually a part of the news story, without actually being there. 10) I felt like I was actually in the places I saw in the report and not just looking at images.	Sensation of having lived an experience	Jennett et al. (2008)Jennett, C., Cox, A., Cairns, P., Dhoparee, S., Epps, A., Tijs, T., & Walton, A. (2008). Measuring and defining the experience of immersion in games. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 66, 641-661. DOI:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2008.04.004 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2008.04.... ; Kang et al. (2018)Kang, S., O’Brien, E., Villarreal, A., Lee, W., & Mahood, C. (2018). Immersive Journalism and Telepresence. Digital Journalism, 7(2), 294-313. DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2018.1504624 https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2018.15... ; Sundar et al. (2017)Sundar, S., Kang, J., & Oprean, D. (2017). How Immersive Journalism Affects Our Perceptions and Cognitions. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20(11), 672-682. DOI:10.1089/cyber.2017.0271 https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2017.0271... .

Questions	Measures	Foundation
-The content you consumed was prepared by a team of journalists. Evaluate the team according to the following characteristics: 1) Reliable 2) Experienced 3) Qualified	Credibility of journalistic team	Lee and Sundar (2013)Lee, J. Y., & Sundar, S. (2013). To Tweet or to Retweet? That Is the Question for Health Professionals on Twitter. Health Communication, 28, 509–524. DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2012.700391 https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2012.70... ; Sundar et al. (2017)Sundar, S., Kang, J., & Oprean, D. (2017). How Immersive Journalism Affects Our Perceptions and Cognitions. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20(11), 672-682. DOI:10.1089/cyber.2017.0271 https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2017.0271... ; Kang et al. (2018)Kang, S., O’Brien, E., Villarreal, A., Lee, W., & Mahood, C. (2018). Immersive Journalism and Telepresence. Digital Journalism, 7(2), 294-313. DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2018.1504624 https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2018.15... ; Chung et al. (2012)Chung, C. J., Nam, Y., & Stefanone, M. A. (2012). Exploring Online News Credibility: The Relative Influence of Traditional and Technological Factors. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 17(2), 171-186. DOI:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2011.01565.x https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2011... ; Vettehen et al. (2019)Vettehen, P., Wiltink, D., Huiskamp, M., Schaap, G., & Ketelaar, P. (2019). Taking the full view: how viewers respond to 360-degree video News. Computers in Human Behavior, 91, 24-32. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2018.09.018 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.09.01... .
-Now evaluate the content of the news report. 4) It seemed to be pretty consistent. 5) It didn’t seem to contain ANY sensationalism. 6) It seemed to be based on fact and not fiction.	Credibility of content	Lee & Sundar (2013)Lee, J. Y., & Sundar, S. (2013). To Tweet or to Retweet? That Is the Question for Health Professionals on Twitter. Health Communication, 28, 509–524. DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2012.700391 https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2012.70... ; Chung et al. (2012)Chung, C. J., Nam, Y., & Stefanone, M. A. (2012). Exploring Online News Credibility: The Relative Influence of Traditional and Technological Factors. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 17(2), 171-186. DOI:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2011.01565.x https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2011... ; Vettehen et al. (2019)Vettehen, P., Wiltink, D., Huiskamp, M., Schaap, G., & Ketelaar, P. (2019). Taking the full view: how viewers respond to 360-degree video News. Computers in Human Behavior, 91, 24-32. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2018.09.018 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.09.01... .
7) It seemed to better express reality in a LESS manipulated way. 8) It seemed to express reality in a MORE transparent way. 9) I trusted the report more because I was free to choose where I wanted to look.	Manipulation, transparency, and freedom of choice	Prepared by authors.
10) I believe it meets the criteria of public interest.	Civil credibility	Kang et al. (2018)Kang, S., O’Brien, E., Villarreal, A., Lee, W., & Mahood, C. (2018). Immersive Journalism and Telepresence. Digital Journalism, 7(2), 294-313. DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2018.1504624 https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2018.15... .

	Minimum	1^st Quartile	Medium	Average	3^rd Quartile	Maximum
G1 C1VR	2.10	4.20	4.85	4.45	5.00	5.00
G2 C1LT	1.10	2.875	3.80	3.52	4.175	4.90
G3 C2VR	3.20	3.85	4.55	4.34	4.90	5.00
G4 C2LT	1.50	2.675	3.25	3.375	3.95	5.00

	Minimum	1^st Quartile	Medium	Average	3^rd Quartile	Maximum
G1 C1VR	3.40	4.70	5.00	4.785	5.00	5.00
G2 C1LT	3.70	4.60	4.80	4.735	5.00	5.00
G3 C2VR	4.00	4.575	4.90	4.775	5.00	5.00
G4 C2LT	3.70	4.375	4.50	4.530	4.825	5.00

Credibility
Questions	Averages per Question		Measures
Questions	VR Glasses (G1 and G3)	Laptop (G2 and G4)	Measures
1	4.87	4.82	Credibility of journalistic team
2	4.75	4.50
3	4.77	4.77
4	4.77	4.70	Credibility of content
5	4.67	4.30
6	4.82	4.97
7	4.77	4.55	Manipulation, transparency, freedom of choice
8	4.82	4.52
9	4.70	4.55
10	4.82	4.62	Civic credibility

Discussion Point	Reference	Interconnecting participant statements
Realism	(Sundar et al., 2017Sundar, S., Kang, J., & Oprean, D. (2017). How Immersive Journalism Affects Our Perceptions and Cognitions. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20(11), 672-682. DOI:10.1089/cyber.2017.0271 https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2017.0271... )	Trust; opinion that the report was well produced; feeling that reality is not distorted; impression of being more truthful; more sharpness; able to see the details.
Proximity	(Kang et al., 2018Kang, S., O’Brien, E., Villarreal, A., Lee, W., & Mahood, C. (2018). Immersive Journalism and Telepresence. Digital Journalism, 7(2), 294-313. DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2018.1504624 https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2018.15... )	Sense of seeing more closely; explore further; to be closer to people, environments and situations; approximation of people’s feelings.
“Seeing is believing”	(Sundar et al., 2017Sundar, S., Kang, J., & Oprean, D. (2017). How Immersive Journalism Affects Our Perceptions and Cognitions. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20(11), 672-682. DOI:10.1089/cyber.2017.0271 https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2017.0271... ) (Vettehen et al., 2019Vettehen, P., Wiltink, D., Huiskamp, M., Schaap, G., & Ketelaar, P. (2019). Taking the full view: how viewers respond to 360-degree video News. Computers in Human Behavior, 91, 24-32. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2018.09.018 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.09.01... )	See with your own eyes; to have the most complete truth; the images speak for themselves; you are really seeing.
Sensory Depth	(Kang et al., 2018Kang, S., O’Brien, E., Villarreal, A., Lee, W., & Mahood, C. (2018). Immersive Journalism and Telepresence. Digital Journalism, 7(2), 294-313. DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2018.1504624 https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2018.15... )	View more; see better; see the environment; more elements and more resources to help understand what is happening; wider view; see further; more information; explore further; allows you to see more and confirm what the narration or characters say.
Cognitive Load	(Vettehen et al., 2019Vettehen, P., Wiltink, D., Huiskamp, M., Schaap, G., & Ketelaar, P. (2019). Taking the full view: how viewers respond to 360-degree video News. Computers in Human Behavior, 91, 24-32. DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2018.09.018 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.09.01... )	Don’t stop to think about credibility; the brain doesn’t keep up; the brain does not allow space to capture images and narration.

Discussion Point	Interconnections based on respondent statements
Freedom of choice	Choose/control what you want to see; less restricted view; less confining and less limited.
Less manipulation and more transparency	Not subjected to what the journalist/cameraperson/company wants to show; have your own view of the situation; nothing hidden; less edited; see more of what has happened; come to your own value judgment; characters seem more free to speak; statements are less practiced; the character speaks and shows reality.
Sensationalism	Feeling of calmness/relief/comfort for not seeing shocking scenes; sensationalism makes the content biased; sensationalism can cause user instability; opinion that the report is good because it is not appealing.

[1] Desk Review Editor: Paulo Nuno Gouveia Vicente

Forms of consumption	Content 1 Bento Rodrigues	Content 2 White Helmets	Data Collection
VR - VR Glasses	Group 1 – C1VR 20 participants	Group 3 – C2VR 20 participants	All participants answered the questionnaire and six participants from each group were interviewed.
LT- Laptop	Group 2 – C1LT 20 participants	Group 4 – C2LT 20 participants

Brasil

Brasil

360º AUDIOVISUAL JOURNALISM: a study on user perceptions of sense of presence and credibility

JORNALISMO AUDIOVISUAL EM 360°: estudo sobre a percepção dos usuários acerca da sensação de presença e da credibilidade

PERIODISMO AUDIOVISUAL EN 360°: estudio sobre la percepción de los usuarios sobre la sensación de presencia y credibilidad

ABSTRACT