New Publication: Applying an 'Ethic of Love' to Journalism and Community Repair

By Danielle Brown, Perry Parks, Jessica Pettengill, Jung-Hsiang (Eric) Hsieh, Jasmine Snow, Jarrad Henderson

Research from the Lift Lab has just been published in the International Journal of Press/Politics. The new article is titled, "Addressing Media Harm and Community Relationships through an Ethic of Love."

For years, conversations around journalism ethics have focused almost entirely on what the journalist does to or for a community. We talk about unidirectional practices— how reporters can parachute in, extract quotes, and leave. But when it comes to repairing deep-seated historical media harm, especially in marginalized communities, those traditional frameworks fall short.

To find a better way forward, we turned to the work of Black feminist theorist bell hooks and her conceptualization of an ethic of love.

This research is deeply anchored in the place where the LIFT Project was founded: Minneapolis, Minnesota. Drawing on interviews with community-identified trusted journalists who reported in Minnesota following the 2020 murder of George Floyd, this paper explores what it actually looks like when newsrooms and communities engage in mutual, reparative relationship-building.

What does a "loving" journalism practice actually look like? Through the lens of hooks' dimensions of love—care, commitment, responsibility, respect, and knowledge—the study reveals two core practices that set successful journalists apart:

• Diligence ("Just being there"): Not just showing up for the crisis, but riding the bus, attending the rallies, and committing the time and resources to be a continuous, accountable presence.

• Deference: Yielding to community norms, respecting the unique ways residents process trauma, and, crucially, stepping back so communities have the autonomy to put their experiences into their own words.

  
  

A key takeaway from this work—and a guiding principle in the ongoing work with the LIFT Project—is that true relationship building cannot be forced. It requires mutual agency and reciprocity. Communities have to consent to these relationships, offering the space, access, and feedback that make better journalism possible.

Our hope is that this study serves as a universal design building block for academic thought and for the journalism industry. By focusing on how trusted relationships were forged with Black communities in Minneapolis during an extraordinary crisis, we can identify robust, solutions-oriented frameworks for making journalism more inclusive, responsive, and reparative far beyond Minnesota.

Read the full article here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/19401612261451034

If you don't have access to the journal, reach out and we'll send you a copy of the manuscript!