The potential of 5G-enabled reporting

It’s a newspaper article; but still, it’s like you’re there, in Northern California wine country. Through a screen, you see the landscape from above, a bird’s eye panorama of vast rows of vines. But the photo isn’t static. Scroll down and a new image appears—a crystal-clear shot of a bunch of ripe red grapes ready to be harvested.

Of course, this little cluster of grapes is just one narrative element that’s symbolic of a much larger story—one of resourcefulness and survival of small businesses in the famed Napa Valley wine region. Like so many other companies around the world, they’re grappling with the economic fallout caused by a global pandemic. The feature is part of The Washington Post’s Road to Recovery initiative, a section launched in the fall of 2020 that is dedicated to highlighting how small business owners around the country have been impacted by the covid-19 crisis. The Napa experience is notable, however, for the particular way it brought this narrative to life. Journalists blended traditional reporting with innovative drone mapping and high-resolution imagery to create an immersive experience.

“It’s consistent with a broader commitment by the newsroom to experiment with emerging, highly visual formats,” said Elite Truong, director of strategic initiatives at The Post, who oversaw the Napa release. “In general, audiences are really drawn to visual storytelling to gain information.”

News organizations across the country are learning this lesson. Now more than ever, journalists at The Washington Post are experimenting with immersive formats like augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and panoramic photography to tell compelling stories in dynamic new ways. And they’re doing so with a crucial technology: 5G wireless.

The Washington Post was able to use AT&T 5G to report the Road to Recovery story. Over the past year and a half, the availability of next-generation wireless has steadily expanded in the United States; now, AT&T 5G is nationwide.

“The AT&T 5G network went live across the country on July 23,” noted Robert Boyanovsky, AT&T vice president for mobility and internet of things. “This development has unlocked the power of next-gen wireless for consumers and businesses alike.”

The potential impact for newsrooms, in particular, is profound. 5G will eventually deliver as much as 100 times the speed of current cellular networks. It also has the potential eventually to reduce data transfer lag time, known as latency, to as quick as a camera flash. These advancements support engaging and enriching story formats that simply weren’t as viable with older networks. The improved latency potential, for example, will ensure a more seamless visual display in VR and AR experiences.

The benefits of the AT&T network are apparent in the reporting process. For the Napa experience, for instance, the Post newsroom equipped a small team of journalists not only with drones and high-tech cameras, but also an AT&T-connected 5G phone and an AT&T-connected router.

Having reliable connectivity from AT&T allowed the crew on the ground on the West Coast to efficiently share gigabytes-worth of content—b-roll and video interviews with grape growers, winery owners, restaurateurs and retailers. The editors in Washington, D.C. were then able provide feedback in near real-time on elements of the story that needed adjusting.

“That’s something we were able to do this year that we were not able to do before,” Truong remarked.

Still, there are a number of barriers to overcome before emerging formats can be put into practice more widely over 5G. One is the need for a cultural change in the newsroom itself, MacVey says, which involves getting all newsroom staff comfortable working with new technologies. Another is the business model challenge. “Immersive media experiences can be a really impactful way to communicate important information to your readers,” MacVey said. “But you also have to figure out a way to sustain your news organization with that financially.”

And then there’s the issue of putting 5G in the hands of consumers. It can take time for a critical mass of people to upgrade their phones to take advantage of the blazing fast transmission speeds that 5G mmWave can offer. Even so, AT&T’s Boyanovsky sees steady progress.

“AT&T will continue to expand its network edge and 5G footprint for improved performance. Meanwhile new 5G handsets and IoT devices supporting Industry 4.0 are coming to market regularly,” Boyanovsky said. “The 5G ecosystem of network, new 5G products, edge solutions and services along with new applications is developing quickly. It will bring immersive experiences to life for consumers and businesses like never before.”