• by Sara Guaglione , November 1, 2016

The New York Times will publish a new, daily 360 video using Samsung Gear cameras and equipment, starting today.

“The Daily 360” is a “visual digital journalism project,” according to the NYT, and will be published in the newspaper's platforms, including NYTimes.com, its mobile and VR apps, and Samsung VR, the company’s virtual-reality content platform. 

The debut video is set in Sana, Yemen. It gives viewers a firsthand account of the conflict there. Upcoming episodes will film the presidential campaign trail leading up to the election next week.

Samsung will provide its proprietary 360 cameras and equipment, Gear 360, to journalists, which will be run by a team of virtual reality experts in the Times’ New York newsroom.

“It’s time to make 360 video a part of the daily news report, as common as text or interactives,” stated Meredith Kopit Levien, EVP/CRO of The New York Times Company.

With this project, the NYT is attempting to make 360-degree video, and perhaps eventually virtual reality, into something consumed regularly, instead of considered a special format. The New York Times isn’t the first media company to try VR or 360 video on a regular basis. In October, the USA Today Network launched its first weekly virtual reality show, called “VRtually There.”

Unlike virtual reality, these 360-degree videos do not require a headset and can be accessed on phone, tablet or desktop. Users can navigate the full effects of the video by scrolling with their mouse or tilting and turning their device to control the angle of the view.

Samsung will also feature “Daily 360” content within its Explore with Galaxy area of Samsung 837, the company’s “digital playground” in New York City.

Marc Mathieu, CMO at Samsung Electronics America, stated the goal of the collaboration is to show "how coverage of the world's most important stories can be made richer, more useful and more human."

In July, the Times unveiled its first 360-degree video experience powered on its mobile Web site. Using OmniVirt’s technology, audiences can watch the video directly in the publisher’s own platform — desktop, mobile web, mobile app and tablet — inside an article.