The Andalusian elections of 2012 in the national press: Analysis of the coverage of Abc, El Mundo and El País

Introduction. This article analyses the coverage of the Andalusian elections campaign of 25 March, 2012, by the Andalusian editions of three Spanish national newspapers: Abc, El Mundo and El País. Objectives.To determine the similarities and differences in the treatment given to the electionsby thesenewspapers;to establish the degree of convergence between the agenda of these newspapers and the agenda of the contending parties; to characterise the presence of the political leaders; and to identify the predominant frames. Methods.Content analysis focused on sixteen items related to the location, production features and content of the 497 electionnews items published by the sample of newspapers. Conclusions.There wasa predominance of regional issues in the coverage of the elections campaign; there was a low presence of interpretive and analytical elements; and there was a predominance of strategic and game frames in the coverage of the elections campaign.