Publishers Embrace VR, But Question its Advertising Potential

By now, it’s hard not to find a news organization that hasn’t at least dabbled in virtual reality-enhanced video, which is known to be breathlessly described as “richly immersive” and having the ability to “generate empathy.” There was The New York Times making a big splash with its film on children displaced by war; Discovery pumping out content weekly for its VR app; and early on, Gannett’s Des Moines Register using VR for an explainer on the family farm.