Changes in the scientific discourse regarding the definition of the concept of “immersive journalism” are considered and the main stages of the critical understanding of the phenomenon are identified. The role of the technological factor as a concept-forming element of VR-communication is studied. 360 ° videos, published on the official YouTube channels of the 1 + 1 television company and Radio Liberty Ukraine in 2015-2019, were studied using the Witmer-Singer methodology. The four groups of factors were identified that ensure the presence in a virtual environment. Several video formats were analyzed: news stories, social advertising, special projects, video broadcasts, multimedia projects, among which there is both event and author’s content. It was determined that factors constantly affect each other, influencing also the main components of the VR effect – presence, involvement and immersion. Videos claiming maximum efficiency should rely on sensory and distraction factors, since the immersive complex “presence + involvement + inclusion” depends on them. In the analyzed texts, the hierarchy of factors is as follows: in the first place are the distraction factors (which makes sense), but the second place is taken by the realism factors despite the format of the text. It is emphasized that realism should come to the fore, if immersive technologies are used in creating news stories and the user is not able to control the composition. In this case, the presence is formed through the immersion in the story. Author’s journalistic texts are created using the methods that allow users to influence the course of the story, propose their own chronotope and create different levels of emotional immersion through, for example, maximum involvement. World practice proves the effectiveness of this principle, but Ukrainian journalists do not use it. Sensory and control factors are usually overlooked, the attention is usually paid to the sensory modality and the anticipation of an action, which are integral elements of journalistic videos.