Evaluation of New York Times Stories

I selected O.J.'s story from the business part and Microsoft 's story from the tech part of the Wall Street Journal front page.

User:ryanmurphy, "american_crime_story_revelada", 09/02/2015, nerdunderground.net

Link to O.J. Simpson Story

O.J. Simpson Drama Resurfaces Old Trial Packed With Familiar Issues

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?

There is no central “character” to the story, but more so an organization. FX Productions is the focus of this story. They are the center of the story because they are in charge of creating and producing the new drama titled “The People vs. O.J. Simpson, American Crime Story”. Nina Jacobson is one of the executives who works at FX Productions, but she mainly works as a figurehead for the brand.

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 setting of the story is a little bit ambiguous. Nothing explicitly happened in person, and most of the dialogue is taken directly from interviews or interactions on the web. That's the weird thing about setting in this era now, is that physical locations are not as important as WHO said them over the internet.

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 all sorts of disagreement in this article. The people at FX Productions are revisiting a topic that many people believe to be "stale", this topic being the OJ Simpson trial. There is also disagreement because the focal point of the show revolves around the case/incremental perturbations more so than the actual crime. In my opinion, it's completely fascinating and the way the trial was executed tells a lot about the motives of the jury and the flaws in the legal system.

Microsoft Plumbs Ocean’s Depths to Test Underwater Data Center

Link to Microsoft Story

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 stoy at all? What role do they play?

The protagonist of the story is Microsoft. They tell us that the number one cost of running high tech facilities is the air conditioning bill. In order to negate these costs, Microsoft created a facility underwater that effectively serves to eliminate the cost of cooling a huge office with tons of heat-producing electronics. Microsoft basically plays the role of a brick wall and deflects attempts to discredit/trivialize their efforts.

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 in the story mostly take place at the research facilities. The majority of these research takes place on the Pacific Coast, more specifically Central California off of the San Obispo Coast, with plans to put similar research facilities in Northern Europe and off of the coast of Florida to see quantitative differences between the West and East coast.

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 lot of disagreement that extensive research that is sea-based will cause pollution to the surrounding coasts. Official researchers from Microsoft retorted that there is heating that there was an "extremely" small amount of local heating of the capsule, implying that it was not detrimental to the health of the immediate ecosystem. We can't be for sure the effects that this would have on the environment until it is implemented on a somewhat larger scale.