A Comparison of Press Coverage in Canada and the United States of the 1982 and 1984 Salvadoran Elections

Abstract

This article investigates press coverage in Canada and the United States of the 1982 and 1984 Salvadoran elections employing the concept of the “demonstration election,” which posits that some elections occur not to select governments and solve problems but rather to confer international legitimacy on the government holding the election. The press plays a vital role in creating this aura of legitimacy. There is some evidence that the American press played a legitimizing role in the elections. While the elections received twice as much coverage in the American press as they did in the Canadian press, with the exception of some differences in leader evaluation and emphasis on issues, Canadians received essentially the same media portrayal of the elections as did Americans.