Broadcast formats reward positions that need no explanation, which structurally excludes any view outside received assumptions.
Chomsky's point about television format: a claim that fits received assumptions needs no supporting argument, while one that does not requires background the format cannot accommodate. The filter is structural, not editorial.
In practice
- A twelve-minute panel slot rewards the guest who can say "the numbers are clear" and penalises the one who needs three minutes on the sampling frame.
- A minister who wants to explain a trade-off is cut off; the one who says it is simple gets invited back.
- Standing
- A format-level mechanism, distinct from the ownership-level claims of the propaganda model.
- Further reading
- Wikipedia
- Subject
- Communication & Media
- Essay
- Theories of what stands between an event and its audience