The coverage of 2008 Spanish presidential elections was remarkably different among free dailies and the paid press. Content analysis of main Spanish newspapers (El País, El Mundo, ADN, Qué! and 20 minutos) reveals a varying degree of salience in the coverage of the political event, as well as the extent to which these papers were politicized. Additionally, news frames were analyzed. The results of this study come from the project "The model of the free press in Spain: development, contents, uses and gratifications perceived by the audience", funded by Ministry of Science and Innovation (SEJ2007-66380). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]