Provisional notes on ubuntu for journalists covering war

Abstract

There is a growing pool of literature on the implications for journalism of the African moral philosophy of ubuntu. However, little of this literature is framed around the conception that the world is fundamentally violent and/or that communication itself is violent, focusing on the idea of harmonious life. This article contributes to changing this, insisting that valuing of harmonious community relations should neither involve denying the violence within which communities are established nor the taking for granted of any “we.” After all, communication is violent and failing to conceptualize African journalistic practice in ways that are consistent with how Africans inordinately experience violence is concerning. With special interest in news regarding violent, I draft a provisional understanding of news that reflects values of ubuntu, tentatively conceptualizing news values inspired by ubuntu, and advocating an ubuntu-informed normative account of how journalists should cover conflict, war, and possibilities regarding peace.