Text features |
Examples |
Stylistic devices |
In many of the titles we have analyzed there are turns and techniques that create a certain effect, for example, in the article in the Guardian `Guardian view on the Russian spy attack: Sergei Skripal and the sowing of discord` the epithet `sowing of discord` is used, creating a literary effect: the title of the article sounds like the name of an adventure book, the Sun uses the metaphorical construction `BETRAYED BY A WORD`, written in capital letters, again with its dramatic appeal to literature; The epithets `horrifying truth`, `mysterious fiancé`, `dirty money`, `furious Kremlin` are used to attract the reader's attention with their emotional assessment – the reader feels complicity with the opinion of the journalist. It is noticed that devices are used more often in tabloids.Both the tabloids and the quality press are characterized by rhetorical questions: `Who is the Salisbury spy Sergei Skripal?` The Guardian, `Why is the UK accusing Russia of launching a nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, and what is the evidence?` The Independent, `How did Sergei Skripal's son and wife die, was there a car crash and what's disseminated endometrial carcinoma?` The Sun, `Who is Salisbury Novichok poisoning suspect Ruslan Boshirov and is his real name Anatoliy Chepiga?` Daily Mirror, `What is Novichok? How Russia developed deadliest nerve agent ever` Daily Mirror, `Is this the Salisbury poisonings hitman?` Daily Mirror, etc. Rhetorical questions are caused either by an analytical genre (for the qualitative press), or by a disguise of provocative opinions (for tabloids) |
Color highlighting of text and writing words in capital letters |
It is typical only for tabloids, in particular for the publications in The Sun and Daily Express. The first uses color differentiation: part of the title, usually the beginning, is highlighted in a different color and is written in capital letters, then there is its decoding: `Putin'S POWERS After Theresa May accents Russia of being behind the poisoning of an ex-spy, der President Putin actually have the power to order targeted kills?`Each title of the articles we analyze is made in this style. Another edition of the Daily Express often uses the caption of some important, key words of the title: ` Protect us from RUSSIA: Three Baltic nations' plea to Trump to bolster defences`, `Sergei Skripal's cousin 'does NOT trust UK' over poising`, ‘You are AGGRESSIVE’ Putin hits out as EU and Britain expel Russian diplomats`. This feature emphasizes the value of judgment and forms the reader's "right" mood for the perception of the article. |
Provocation and evaluation |
This feature is connected with the incident itself – the largest international scandal affected not only the complication of relations, but also the tone of British media articles. Only some publications, more often quality media, adhered to neutral vocabulary, although they sometimes violated diplomatic norms of rhetoric, using provocative and evaluative headlines: The Guardian ironically says after an interview with the suspects `Skripal suspects display impressive command of Wikipedia`, `The new Skripal revelations have made the Kremlin look flat-footed`, or in another headline out of context uses the quote Putin's `Vladimir Putin calls Sergei Skripal a scumbag and a traitor`, also titled `Planes, trains and fake names: the trail left by Skripal suspects` The Guardian uses a reference to the American Comedy `Planes, Trains and Automobiles` to create an ironic effect. The Independent also ironically describes Russia's statement using the epithet: `Salisbury attack: Furious Kremlin accuses UK of 'manipulation' after Russian agents named as novichok suspects.`In the tabloids this feature is used especially widely, it sounds very provocatively: The Sun strongly increasing tension in society: `PUTIN'S HITMEN: Salisbury suspects ARE Kremlin spies as pair seen smiling after Novichok hit`, `World War 3: Russia SHOCK warning – expulsion of diplomats could lead to WAR`, Daily Express use the same techniques: `Protect us from RUSSIA: the Three Baltic nations' plea to Trump to bolster defences`, `Russia spy SHOCK: Sergei Skripal and daughter ‘might NOT have been poisoned’, claims niece`.We noted that during calm periods, the press artificially maintained interest in the conflict, using more provocative headlines. |
Key words |
It was found that 90% of all analyzed articles contain one of the key words in the title: Putin, Russia, Russia in conjunction with the topic of the article: poisoning, attack, Skripal.This feature forms a stable connection between poisoning and Russia. |