launched a new platform in April 2017 called “Contrast”, which is a multimedia studio specialising in interactive story productions in both Arabic and English. This “virtual reality journalism” platform delivers visual content using virtual and augmented reality technologies, with 360-degree filming using rotating cameras that record clips from all sides, allowing viewers to feel as if they are part of the footage and giv- ing them the opportunity to change the angle or view in any direction. Contrast produces two types of films: short features created for social media platforms ranging from one minute to two and a half minutes, and longer documentaries that range from five to eight minutes (1) . Virtu- al reality journalism is currently one of the most important types of sto- ry-telling, and allows users to make the transition from simply “reading or watching the news” to “experiencing the news”. Another media service launched by the network falls under audio media, with the launch of podcasts in May 2019, given the increased global interest and audience for this digital service. To start, two pro- grammes were launched as podcasts, Rumoz and Lah-dha , followed by a third, Ba’da Ams , hosted by Al Jazeera Presenter Khadija Bengana. Al Jazeera Podcast seeks to be the first media platform of its kind in the Arab world, presenting daily audio news programmes addressing the most prominent events in the region and beyond. The podcast also has a goal of informing listeners about current events in a talk format that digs deep and enriches the content with an entertaining and suspenseful narrative structure that covers different points of view. According to some statistics, there are 1.5 million active podcasts across the world. More than 34 million episodes have been broadcast in more than one hundred languages since October 2020 although active podcasts as of June 2018 did not exceed 550,000 with a total of 18.5 million podcast episodes (2) . A study by US-based Northwestern University indicates that podcasts are especially popular in the Arab world, with weekly podcast listening going up in five Arab countries, including Qatar, Lebanon and (1) Nareen Shammo, “Contrast in Arabic: The First Arabic Platform Using Virtual Reality Technology”, IJ Net , 17 March 2019, https://bit.ly/2X3Pa3K (accessed 4 October 2020). (2) Ross Winn, “2020 Podcast Stats & Facts (New Research from Oct 2020)”, Podcast In- sights , 6 October 2020, https://bit.ly/3FAbjIn (accessed 6 October 2020).
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