Immersive journalism and the migrant crisis: The case of Exils as a mobile radio reportage

Abstract

Abstract This article retraces a conversation with Nicolae Schiau – a radio journalist at RTS (the French-speaking Swiss national radio and television broadcaster) – and the face behind Exils. This ‘augmented’ reportage followed the journey of six young migrants from the Syrian border to Germany and France. The two editors of this special issue interviewed Schiau to question him about his practice as a paradigmatic example of important shifts in crisis-reporting, in terms of format, relationship with the audience and sources as well as personal experience (as a journalist and human being). By using innovative forms of immersive journalism and storytelling, Exils therefore illustrates how combining mobile journalism and traditional reporting practices can meaningfully increase visibility in the media of people previously voiceless, and can potentially provide alternative perspectives on an event by reaching a wider audience, who might not be initially concerned by the situation.