Jason Hanasik Selected as First Virtual Reality Intern at LA Times

First-year Berkeley J-School student Jason Hanasik will be interning at The Los Angeles Times this summer as the news organization’s first virtual reality (VR) intern, a field journalists are paying closer attention to as it grows in popularity.

VR aims to give users an immersive experience by allowing them to interact with a 360-degree visual world. The VR team at the L.A. Times is housed within the data division, which is directed by veteran graphics expert Len DeGroot, who formerly taught at the J-School. The graphics/data visualizations team works closely with the photo/video department to produce VR content.

Hanasik met with DeGroot earlier this year and pitched ideas for VR stories. He then made it into the finalist round, where candidates were asked for three-to-five more pitches.

Hanasik credited his success to his nontraditional background as an artist, as well as to the microsite he created for his 360-degree art pieces, such as still-image panoramas.

“They want to see that you can think in this way,” said Hanasik, who has a master’s degree in visual arts from the California College of the Arts.

“Our industry is constantly changing, and it’s important for journalists to be nimble and adaptive,” said DeGroot. “Jason demonstrated both creativity and the drive to learn how to use virtual reality as a medium for journalism.”

The LA Times’ first interactive VR tour was of Mars’ Gale Crater in October 2015, produced by J-school alum Armand Emamdjomeh (‘10), which was followed by 360-degree video projects, including one of the street memorial that was assembled after the San Bernardino, Calif., murders.

Though he has not created VR pieces before, Hanasik has worked on 360-degree pieces since 2007. He introduced VR at his corporate job before enrolling at UC Berkeley.

Hanasik hopes more journalists use VR to enhance their print pieces to overcome the disconnect that now exists between the two media.

“Why not make a quick, pop-up VR experience and put the person there?” he said.

DeGroot believes the day will come when headset adoption will become widespread, and he suggests journalists be ready and “know how to produce effective content when that day arrives.”

“Complex data visualizations that make little sense in a 2D space make more sense in VR,” he said. “For example, campaign finance is incredibly difficult to visualize because it is so complex. Because we can navigate a 3D space, there is potential to create a complex visualizations where readers can comfortably ‘follow the money.’”

J-School Assistant Professor Koci Hernandez agrees.

“The beautiful opportunity about the emerging and continually shifting technological landscape is the possibility of new narratives. I can’t image a better marriage of media, data viz and 3D.”

“Jason is a powerhouse of ideas and taking-on cutting edge ideas. He’s always engaged, asking important questions in class and encouraging his peers and professors to continually push the needle of innovation,” said Hernandez.

The internship is 10 weeks long, and will start in June.

“I have no idea where the industry is headed, but I feel very lucky to be a part of it at this moment,” said Hanasik. “It feels like the beginning of something new, big, and game-changing.”

By Atia Musazay (’17)