“In Washington, Putin’s Nuclear Threats Stir Growing Alarm”
Authors often deploy language and rhetorical strategies in headlines that lure the reader into reading their article. In this headline from the New York Times, the authors offer just enough information to draw in the reader and create a sense of concern while also leaving you wanting to know more. From the headline alone, it is evident that the authors’ values oppose nuclear warfare, and one can assume that they have taken the side of Ukraine in the Russia-Ukraine war. The headline creates an expectation of the article to take a position against potential nuclear warfare, as well as explain why Putin’s nuclear threats are a cause for alarm. Needless to say, the article certainly delivers.
The New York Times authors, David E. Sanger, Anton Troianovski and Julian E. Barnes, engage with Russian military analysts, senior American officials, and Putin himself among many other sources. With this article, these authors fit into “politics” and “Russian-Ukraine War” discourse groups. This article persuades its audience, which is educated and oftentimes older, to think about the crisis in Ukraine as well as preventing a nuclear catastrophe. This article was posted today, which indicates that it is for people that actively keep up with world news. The authors utilize logos in their argument against nuclear warfare. For example, they describe that “the military benefits [for Russia] would be few.” They also use logos in their argument as to why this is a growing concern. Their reasoning is quite extensive and includes constraints and choices Putin is faced with, as well as posing the advantages of nuclear threats, all the while backing everything up with quotes from professionals in the field. This presents itself as quite an effective argument that leaves the reader with a sense of concern and aversion towards nuclear weapons.
Sanger, D. E., Troianovski, A., & Barnes, J. E. (2022, October 1). In Washington, Putin’s nuclear threats stir growing alarm. The New York Times. Retrieved October 1, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/01/world/europe/washington-putin-nuclear-threats.html