Virtual Reality and Immersive Journalism: Problems and Prospects in Nigeria

Virtual reality (VR) and immersive journalism represent one of the most significant technological turns in contemporary news production, allowing audiences to experience news events as first-person participants rather than as distant observers. Since the concept was formally introduced to describe news content produced through head-mounted displays and 360-degree video, immersive journalism has been embraced by leading global news organisations as a tool for deepening audience empathy, presence, and engagement. This paper interrogates the concept, theoretical underpinnings, and practice of virtual reality and immersive journalism, with specific attention to the Nigerian media environment. Anchored on Presence Theory and the Technology Acceptance Model, the paper adopts a qualitative, literature-based (desk research) methodology to examine the extent to which Nigerian newsrooms have adopted immersive technologies, the structural and socio-economic problems militating against adoption, and the prospects the technology holds for the future of news storytelling in the country. The paper identifies poor broadband and electricity infrastructure, the high cost of VR hardware, low digital literacy, inadequate journalist training, weak institutional investment, and unresolved ethical questions around authenticity and manipulation as the dominant challenges. The researcher recommends deliberate investment in broadband infrastructure, curriculum reform in journalism schools, public-private collaboration, and the development of context-specific ethical guidelines to enable Nigerian journalism to responsibly harness immersive technologies.