Anita Varma

Anita Varma is an Assistant Professor in the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Texas at Austin. She leads the Solidarity Journalism Initiative at the Center for Media Engagement as a senior faculty research associate. Her work emphasizes solidarity in journalism, focusing on marginalized communities and ethical reporting practices. Varma chairs the Media Ethics Division of AEJMC and serves on boards of organizations like the Society of Professional Journalists and Press On.

Varma holds a PhD in Communication from Stanford University, with a dissertation on solidarity in journalism awarded the Penn State Davis Ethics Award. Her research explores media ethics, solidarity reporting, and the role of journalism in social justice. She previously served as Assistant Director of Journalism & Media Ethics at Santa Clara University and a Visiting Lecturer at UC Berkeley’s School of Journalism.

Her scholarly articles address antiracist journalism, empathy limitations in reporting, and solidarity as a news value. Varma advocates for journalism that actively engages marginalized voices and challenges systemic inequities, emphasizing public service and democratic accountability in media practices.

Varma’s awards include the Penn State Davis Ethics Award for her dissertation, recognizing her groundbreaking work on humanizing techniques in journalism. Her articles consistently explore intersections between media practices and social justice, offering frameworks for ethical reporting that prioritize solidarity over traditional objectivity.