Michelle Goldberg
Corrupt forces find it easy to manipulate this president.
The New York Times
November 4, 2019
In one of Goldberg's recent articles, "On Ukraine, Trump is a Con Man, but He's Also a Mark," Goldberg discusses the current Ukranian relations with President Trump and addresses the confusion associated with the news. Unlike Goldberg's usual articles, she does not bash or undermine Trump. Instead, she takes a more sophisticated, factual approach. She maintains a formal tone through the piece, which causes her audience to respect her opinions after hearing all of the information. Goldberg establishes credibility by quoting Kenneth McCallion, a New York lawyer who once represented the Prime Minister of Ukraine. Therefore, he is a credible source due to how close he was to the Ukranian government and the knowledge he took from that experience. She also quotes Buzzfeed News, CNN, and the Justice Department to establish the credibility of her facts further. Goldberg's use of formal diction creates a trustworthy feel to her piece because she is not biased or conversation-like. This implies the urgency and importance of the topic of the article. Overall, the purpose of Goldberg's article is to inform her audience of the common misconceptions of the Ukranian scandal and address the new information that has been released.
Comment for the author:
ReplyDeleteI found the formality and factuality of the article refreshing compared to your recent anti-Trump posts. Since your bias is not as evident in this article, your audience is much broader. Lastly, I have a question, in your opinion, do you believe this was directly Trump's wrongdoing, or do you think people like Firtash ultimately manipulated Trump?
Goldberg's sophisticated approach certainly adds to her credibility. As readers, we are more likely to trust calm authors than intense authors who have differing opinions than us. I agree that the formal diction adds to the over-all trustworthy aura of the piece.
ReplyDeleteI found that many columnist are addressing foreign affairs, I found this to be a new trend,. I like this new because it seems columnists use more of rhetorical devices to support their ideas and claims.
ReplyDeleteI am very surprised at how Goldberg approaches this topic. Like you said, she usually undermines and bashes Trump; but here, she considers the facts and does not put her personal input into it.
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