Royden D'Souza

ICFJ Google Fellow Royden D’Souza worked with Indian digital news startup The Wire to drive the adoption of the latest tools and workflows for immersive storytelling. He helped the newsroom and its journalists connect better as storytellers with an audience that has become increasingly mobile and digital.

During D’Souza’s six-month Fellowship, he guided The Wire in bringing immersive and live video content into its editorial planning cycle and supported the production of the site’s first-ever 360-degree stories. He introduced new planning processes to the newsroom. He also taught  journalists how to use the new equipment and how to edit immersive videos.

The Wire’s 360-degree videos take viewers inside  a major protest in New Delhi,  a vintage car garage and a historic local business in Allahabad, India. One of the most powerful videos lets viewers experience the chaos inside Delhi’s largest government hospital. Every day, thousands of people from across the capital and its neighboring areas stream into the hospital to access healthcare that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford. The video gives viewers a unique, immersive look at the long lines, crowded conditions and frustrated family members trying to get treatment for their loved ones.

D’Souza also collaborated with Bangalore-based ICFJ Knight Fellow Meera K to organize a 360-degree video workshop for journalists at Deccan Herald, one of the largest and most influential South Indian media outlets. As a result of the training, the journalists produced not only their first-ever 360-degree video story but also their first cross-platform story, with special components for both print and web, about one of the city’s most polluted lakes.

D’Souza has spent close to two decades working with leading Indian newspapers, television and multimedia newsrooms. In 2015, he co-founded RaydioActive, South Asia's first mobile app-based podcasting platform supporting independent audio content creators. He later helped set up and launch World Is One News (WION). At WION, he spearheaded the launch of the first digital innovation lab in a South Asian newsroom.