Most of the communication media in El Salvador are defined by their closeness with political and business powers. Many of them, specially the so called traditional media (newspapers and television), have been essential for candidacies and political campaigns of political parties.
This dependence and the surge of social networks, have been paramount to explain the audience reduction of traditional media, especially newspapers, that have experienced significative losses in recent years.
The regulation of the media landscape is associated to the logic of minimal state intervention. Even the Telecommunications Act still grants a limited role to the state, enabling the market intervention. This kind of regulation has been maintained by both right-leaning governments as well as left-leaning FMLN governments. The amendments promoted in the last 5 years constitute an advancement, but still do not reflect a public use of the radioelectric spectrum, neither a substantial advance to the operation of a plural and diverse media system as it is indicated by the international standards on freedom of speech.
Television is the most important medium in the country. It is the most widespread and the one that receives the most from advertisers. Therefore, its political influence is essential.
Finally, it is necessary to emphasise that the media landscape in El Salvador, defined by its low level of specialisation, has been deeply impacted by the surge of social networks and digital age, enabling a dissemination of digital media. In most cases these have been useful to perform a serious and rigorous journalism, but in other cases to boost political projects and even the 'fake news' phenomenon.