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 an attractive 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.