La cobertura mediática de los debates electorales en España Media coverage of electoral debates in Spain

Election debates are considered the main events of election campaigns since its introduction and subsequent expansion from the United States. However, as important as the discussions themselves may be the media coverage. Framing predictions and the assumptions of gatekeeping alike affirm that the coverage of political events is often not depicted accurately, mainly due to a process of selection and framing of information. Moreover, several investigations suggest that the potential impact of debates on electoral behavior may be moderated by that media coverage, hence increasing the importance of such studies. This article shows that, indeed, this phenomenon happened in the news coverage of electoral