Spanish press coverage of the homosexual marriage legalization from the framing perspective. A comparative analysis of ABC and El País

Abstract

The homosexual marriage legalization in Spain generated a political and media controversy. The main objective of this research is to know how politicians and media used the so-called press frames when talking about that legislation. We also want to analyze argumentation patterns used by social actors regarding social sectors faced in Spain. Based on framing theory, we have used content analysis methodology in order to analyze texts and images published by ABC and El País about that law during previous and next week to the bill approval. We conclude that there were two opinion streams, secular and catholic, which are not exactly the same positions promoted by the main parties in the left wing (PSOE) and the right wing (PP).