ABSTRACT
News coverage of Central America increased exponentially after 1978 with the onset of the crisis in Central America. This chapter presents the two case studies of news stories on Nicaragua suggest that, despite vastly increased coverage, the media slights crucial political Central American dynamics unless they happen to pertain to issues framed in Washington, particularly in the White House. Media coverage of the 1982 Salvadoran election celebrated a return of democracy to El Salvador. Modern journalism is supposed to be differentiated from the old-fashioned news form of trumpeting the proclamations of the king because the former includes dissenting views. The opposition to the Sandinistas inside Nicaragua can be divided into two categories—those who participated in the 1984 election and those who advocated abstention. The news frame reflected the president's agenda; the groups were portrayed as victims of Sandinista civil rights abuses.
