Enthymematic solutions to the Lockshin defection story: A case study in the repair of a problematic narrative

Abstract

This essay examines newspaper coverage of the Arnold Lockshin family's 1986 defection to the Soviet Union. As a case study, it illustrates how the print media can enthymematically repair ideologically problematic narratives in such a way that engaged publics can maintain cognitive consistency. It is argued that the media used four premises—credibility, perversion, gullibility, and isolation—to reconstruct enthymematically the narrative in a nonthreatening, ideologically consistent manner.