The application of the concept of balance in news is considered to be the cornerstone of professional journalism; however, the realization of balance when covering issues of conflict raises a number of serious questions. Based on interviews and textual analysis, we seek to understand how the concept of balance is perceived by journalists working with non-governmental/private broadcast media in Afghanistan. The findings of this research show that differences exist in the way balance is perceived and applied. There are also a number of constraints in applying the concept. Furthermore, the practical application of the concept of balance reduces the complexity of the conflict by presenting only two opposing sides. Nonetheless, we argue that balance has uses for journalists in Afghanistan. The authors recommend increasing the number of sources in news stories, inclusion of non-violent groups/parties as sources, and encouraging creative ways of reporting and presenting issues of conflict and peace.

平衡概念在新闻中的应用被认为是专业新闻的基石；然而，在处理冲突问题时实现平衡会引起一些严重的问题。基于采访和文本分析，我们试图了解在阿富汗与非政府/私人广播媒体合作的记者如何看待平衡的概念。这项研究的结果表明，在感知和应用平衡的方式上存在差异。在应用这个概念时也有许多限制。此外，平衡概念的实际应用通过仅呈现两个对立的方面来降低冲突的复杂性。尽管如此，我们认为平衡对阿富汗的记者有用。