Broadcast balance legitimates only parliamentary-defined politics and excludes extra-parliamentary politics

Evidence

Political “balance” operates essentially between the legitimate mass parties in the parliamentary system. “Balance” becomes trickier when groups outside the consensus participate, since the grounds of conflict then become the terrain of political legitimacy itself—an issue on which Labour and Conservative spokesmen stand together, against the others. In this way television does not favor one point of view, but it does favor—and reproduce—one definition of politics: by definition it excludes, represses, or neutralizes other definitions. — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 864

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the Stormont example and to the wider argument that ‘balance’ framing delegitimates non-parliamentary actions like rent strikes and civil defense marches. — connects to: The BBC’s political coverage encodes unspoken rules suppressing political seriousness — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 738; Debate framing narrows when alternatives are excluded from broadcast
• CANDY: Nice compact formulation: ‘television does not favor one point of view, but it does favor—and reproduce—one definition of politics.’