Refereed Publications

Varma, A. (2023). “Solidarity Reporting on Marginalization: A Grounded Alternative to Monitorial Reporting’s Emphasis on Officials.” Journalism Practice, OnlineFirst. (PDF)

Varma, A. (2022). “Moral Solidarity as a News Value: Rendering Marginalized Communities and Enduring Social Injustice Newsworthy.” Journalism, OnlineFirst. (PDF)

Varma, A. (2020). “Evoking Empathy or Enacting Solidarity? A Case Study of Journalistic Humanizing Techniques in the San Francisco Homeless Project.” Journalism Studies. Vol. 21.12, 1705-1723. (PDF)

Glasser, T.L., Varma, A., Zou, S. (2019). “Native Advertising and the Cultivation of Counterfeit News.” Journalism. Vol. 20.1,150-153. (PDF)

Aitamurto, T. & Varma, A. (2018). “The Constructive Role of Journalism: Contentious Metadiscourse on Constructive Journalism & Solutions Journalism.” Journalism Practice. Vol. 12:6, 695-713. (PDF)

Varma, A. (2017). “When Empathy is Not Enough: The Possibilities for Solidarity in the San Francisco Homeless Project.” Journalism Practice. Vol. 19.1, 105-121. (PDF)

Varma, A. (2017). “Book Review: Chris Peters and Marcel Broersma (eds.) Rethinking Journalism Again: Societal role and public relevance in a digital age.” Journalism. Vol. 18.7, 932-934. (PDF)

Varma, A. (2014). “The Ironic Incongruity of Canonical Common Sense in Critical Communication: The Case of Stuart Hall’s ‘Encoding, Decoding’ Model.” In Leah Lievrouw (Ed.) Challenging Communication Research: ICA 2013 Theme Book. Peter Lang Publishers.

Varma, A. (Spring 2009). “Politics of Difference in the Writing Center.” Young Scholars in Writing: Undergraduate Research in Writing and Rhetoric. Vol. 6, 30-38. (PDF)

In Preparation

Varma, A. Solidarity in Action: How Ethical Journalism Fights for Social Justice.

Invited Contributions to Edited Volumes

Varma, A. (forthcoming). “Navigating the Dangers of Mainstream Visibility for Marginalized Communities through an Ethic of Solidarity in Digital Journalism.” In Sandra Banjac, Joëlle Swart, David Cheruiyot and Scott A Eldridge II, eds. Routledge Companion to Digital Journalism Studies (2nd edition). Routledge.

Varma, A. (2021). “Solidarity in (Social Media) Journalism: A Framework for Assessing Journalistic #Commitments.” In Stephen Ward and Clifford Christians, eds, with section editor Kathleen Bartzen Culver. A Handbook of Global Media Ethics. Springer International Publishing.

Varma, A. (2021). “Solidarity in American Journalism: Social Justice Implications of How Journalists Humanize Homeless People.” In Sandra Borden, ed. Routledge Companion to Media and Poverty. Routledge.

Glasser, T. L., Zou, S., Varma, A. (2020). “Native Advertising as Counterfeit News.” In Melissa Zimdars & Kembrew McLeod, eds. Fake News: Understanding Media and Misinformation in the Digital Age. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Refereed Conference Papers

Varma, A., Limov, B., Cabas-Mijares, A. (2023). “‘They Always Get Our Story Wrong’: Social Justice Activists’ Experience of News Reporters in the United States.” Accepted to the 106th Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Annual Conference. Critical and Cultural Studies Division. Washington, D.C. Top Faculty Paper Award.

Varma, A. (2023). “Solidarity in Sourcing Practices: A Case Study of How Journalists Cover Homelessness and Low-Income Housing.” Accepted to the 73rd International Communication Association Annual Conference. Journalism Studies Division. Toronto, Canada.

Varma, A. (2022). “Solidarity Reporting on Marginalization: A Remedy for Official Misinformation in Monitorial Reporting.” Accepted to the 72nd International Communication Association Annual Conference. Journalism Studies Division. Hybrid virtual convening due to COVID-19.

Varma, A. (2021) “Moral Solidarity as a News Value: Rendering Marginalized Communities & Enduring Social Injustice Newsworthy.” Accepted to the 71st International Communication Association Annual Conference. Journalism Studies Division. Virtual convening due to COVID-19.

Varma, A. & Katsanevas, A. (2019) “A Collaboration in Name Only? Social Justice Implications of Prioritizing Journalistic Autonomy Over Solidarity in the 2016 San Francisco Homeless Project.” International Communication Association. Journalism Studies Division. Washington, D.C.

Aitamurto, T. & Varma, A. (2018) The Constructive Role of Journalism: Contentious Metadiscourse on Constructive Journalism and Solutions Journalism. Paper accepted for presentation at the 68th International Communication Association Annual Conference, Journalism Studies Division, Prague, Czech Republic.

Katsanevas, A. & Varma, A. (2017). “Democracy as Tolerance or Solidarity: Disentangling Normative Frameworks for the Study of Political Communication.” International Communication Association. Normative Theory in Communication Research Preconference. San Diego, California.

Varma, A. (2017). “When Empathy is Not Enough: The Possibilities for Solidarity in The San Francisco Homeless Project.” International Communication Association. Journalism Studies Division. San Diego, California.

Varma, A. (2015). “Power, Solidarity, and the Watchdog Ideal: The Roots of an Adversarial Press in America and Britain.”  International Association for Media and Communication Research. Journalism Research and Education Section. Montreal, Canada.

Varma, A. (2015). “The Limits of Watchdog Journalism: A Case Study of the Representation of Power.” International Communication Association. Journalism Studies Division. San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Varma, A. (2013). “The Ironic Incongruity of Canonical Common Sense in Critical Communication: The Case of Stuart Hall’s ‘Encoding, Decoding’ Model.” International Communication Association. Theme Session. London, UK. Top Paper Award, “Challenging Communication” Theme Session 

Selected Public-Facing Writing (commentary, analysis, & opinion)

Varma, A. (2022, December 15). “Journalism prioritizes the basic need for survival.” Nieman Lab.

Varma, A. (2022, September 28). “Solidarity Journalism: Opening Remarks for Social Justice Week event at Toronto Metropolitan University.” Medium.com.

Varma, A. (2021, December 8). “Solidarity eclipses objectivity as journalism’s dominant ideal.” Nieman Lab.

Varma, A. (2021, December 21). “What solidarity journalism reveals to us.” The Indypendent.

Varma, A. (2021, July 28). “Want to support accurate journalism? Fund solidarity reporting.” The Engaged Journalism Lab. Democracy Fund (Washington, DC).

Varma, A. (2021, May 3). “Solidarity reporting can help the cause of public safety for marginalized communities: ‘We are not asking for more men with guns.’” The Objective.

Varma, A. (2021, January 8). “Covering Domestic Terrorism in Solidarity with People Subjected to It.” All About Ethics. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara University).

Varma, A. (2020). “Solidarity Journalism.” Journalism & Media Ethics Resources. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara University).

Varma, A. (2020, November 23). “Solidarity (Not Reconciliation) Offers a Path for Public Discourse in a Fractured Society.” All About Ethics. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara University).

Varma, A. (2020, November 11). “Hunger Among Veterans isn’t Restricted to Veterans Day – Though News Feeds Suggest Otherwise.” All About Ethics. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara University).

Varma, A. (2020, August 27). “Heading into Election 2020, Let’s Ask Ourselves: ‘What Makes This Newsworthy?’” All About Ethics. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara University).

Varma, A. (2020, July 23). “Beyond the Statement: How Journalism Funders Can Act in Solidarity with Marginalized Communities.” The Engaged Journalism Lab. Democracy Fund (Washington, DC).

Varma, A. (2020, July 15). “Institutional Racism is Not Inevitable—Despite Facebook’s Preferred Narrative.” All About Ethics. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara University).

Varma, A. (2020, May 15). “5 (Subtle) Types of Misinformation in Media Coverage of Coronavirus.” All About Ethics. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara University).

Varma, A. (2020, April 9). “What to Do When the Numbers in the News Become Benumbing: How Journalists Can Better Humanize Death Tolls, Coronavirus Cases, and Unemployment Rates.” All About Ethics. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara University). Excerpts featured on CNN.com and CNN newsletter.

Varma, A. (2020, March 18). “The Value of Slow Journalism During a Rapidly-Developing Story of Pandemic: Drawing the Distinction Between Explanatory Journalism and Expedient News.” All About Ethics. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara University)

Varma, A. (2020, February 6). “5 Suggestions for Covering the Coronavirus: How to Tell Stories of the Coronavirus Without Apocalypse Narratives.” All About Ethics. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara University)

Varma, A. (2020, January 15). “Why Are Politicians Lying & What is Advertising Doing in Politics? Two Alternative Questions to ‘Should Facebook Allow Politicians to Lie in Ads?’” All About Ethics. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara University)

Varma, A. (2019, November 19). “Impeachment Should be a Story of National Solidarity, Not Partisanship.” All About Ethics. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara University)

Heider, D. & Varma, A. (2019, November 12). “Point-Counterpoint: Should The Daily Northwestern have apologized? Ethical Perspectives on Student Journalists’ Coverage of an On-Campus Protest.” All About Ethics. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara University)

Varma, A. (2019, October 14). “Ethical News Coverage of Climate Change Needs to Prioritize Efficacy.” All About Ethics. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara University)

Varma, A. (2019, September 11). “Is American News Coverage ‘Too Sympathetic to Immigrants’? Prioritizing Dignity over Detachment in Ethical Journalism Practice.” All About Ethics. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara University)

Varma, A. (2019, June 26). “Disputing the False Promise of Redemption through News Photography: Angie Valeria and her father deserve more than empathy fatigue.” All About Ethics. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara University)

Varma, A. (2019, May 31). “Facebook’s Ethically Incoherent Response to Manipulated Content: Abdicating private responsibility is a strategic maneuver to avoid public accountability.” All About Ethics. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara University).

Varma, A. (2019, March 28). “Ethical Implications of ‘Indexing’ for Press Independence:
Mueller Report Coverage in the Context of Press-State Relations.” All About Ethics. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara University)

Varma, A. (2019, March 20). “Sharing or Shunning Christchurch Content? Human Dignity as an Ethical Principle for Digital News.” All About Ethics. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics (Santa Clara University)

Varma, A. (2018, October 6). “What Criteria Should We Use to Confirm a Supreme Court Justice?” Medium.com.