Evaluation of New York Times Stories

 I selected the political and scientific sections in the NY Times to take a look at because of two reasons: science is interesting to me and I wanted to see what interesting articles there could be in politics (sarcasm intended). I found one political article titled "For Gadget Geek in the Oval Office, High Tech Has Its Limits" and a scientific article titled "Gas Leak in Los Angeles Has Residents Looking Warily Toward Flint".

For Gadget Geek in the Oval Office, High Tech Has Its Limits

1. Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they are the "center" of the story? If not, are there any important or central characters in the story at all? What role do they play?

The protagonist of this story is President Barack Obama and he is central to the story as the story centers on how Mr. Obama is the first "gadget geek" Commander in Chief and the limits of his use with certain personal technologies such as an iPad.

2. Where do the specific events in the story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe the settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.

It is safe to say that this entire article is centered around one of the most iconic places on Earth: the White House. The White House is the home of the President of the United Unites and home to the place where many "info-sensitive" meetings and information passes through. So, the fact that the White House affects the way people at the White House can use certain technologies and increases the caution for technological securities in devices around the House.

mikebrice,"Obama Barack Obama President Man President Obama". 02/24/08 via Pixabay.
CC0 Public Domain

3. Is there any kind of disagreement or debate happening in the story? If so, who is participating, why are people debating and what seems to be at stake for the different characters in the story?

There is a debate of sorts of just how many of the President's devices are purposely disabled. This "debate" seems to involve White House officials, who refuse to comment on the question of the devices, and the media who is curious to know more about the actions taken to prevent cyber attacks. Officials probably do not want to comment on the features of the devices because it could expose information that can help "evil doers" figure out what kind of features could still be potentially hacked on the technology within the President's reach,The media does not have any risk that could endanger the free world so to speak.

"Gas Leak in Los Angeles Has Residents Looking Warily Toward Flint"

LoggaWiggler, "Pressure Water Line Pipeline Tube Water Guide" 10/03/14 via Pixabay
CC0 Public Domain

1. Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they are the "center" of the story? If not, are there any important or central characters in the story at all? What role do they play?

The residents of Porter Ranch ( a neighborhood near L.A.) seem to be at the center of this hazardous related story of a gas leak near them. The antagonists of this story are the public officials (specifically the Los Angeles Department of Health), whom are seen skeptically by the residents because although they say the area is now safe of the leaked natural gas, the residents ain't buying it.

2. Where do the specific events in the story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe the settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.

The events of this particular article occur in the neighborhood of Porter Ranch, which is located near Los Angeles, California. The setting influences the residents of Porter Ranch because since they live near hills that have pipes which run natural gas pulled deep from the Earth, their setting has provoked the issue of the gas leak! Hence, the setting arose a problem for our central characters and eventually set up the skepticism of the residents against the public officials.

3. Is there any kind of disagreement or debate happening in the story? If so, who is participating, why are people debating and what seems to be at stake for the different characters in the story?

There has arisen the issue of trust between the public and public officials. The residents of Porter Ranch are looking towards the water crisis in Flint, Michigan; which for those that do not know about this event, the officials in Flint changed the source of water to save money, told residents it was safe, then a year later they found out it was not. So, the Flint incident is backing up the notion for these people to doubt the public officials that the area is now safe because the government has deceived the people before. This conflict puts the credibility of the government at risk, the loss of the residents' homes to move to a safer area and has caused lawsuits against the Southern California Gas Company for causing several health issues with the residents.