Evaluation of New York Times Stories

News stories are jam-packed with information. The reader must sort out all the information within the context of the situation in order to gain a deeper understanding of the event.

El Salvador’s Advice on Zika Virus: Don’t Have Babies

Tann, John. "Mosquito just getting started" 12/9/11 via Flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic.

1. Who are the central characters and what role do they play?
The El Salvador government are at the center of the story as they try to fend off Zika virus carrying mosquitoes and try to convince their citizens to stop having children.

2. Where do the specific events in the story take place? Describe the setting and how it influences the plot and characters.
The story takes place in El Salvador where stagnant water is abundant and mosquitoes thrive. The mosquitoes carry a virus that is not particularly harmful to a healthy human, but if a pregnant woman is infected, her child has a high risk to being born with dangerous and irreversible birth defects.

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?
The El Salvador government advised its people to not have children until 2018. However, as the vast majority of citizens are practicing Roman Catholics, contraception is out of the question and sexual abstinence is unlikely. Thus, the townspeople violently chase away government sanitation workers when they come to their towns to fumigate homes and sanitize stagnant water.

Ava DuVernay on Hollywood’s Inclusion Problem

Luedin, Eva. "Hollywood" 7/14/09 via Flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic.

1. Who are the central characters and what role do they play?
Ava DuVernay is the main character of this story. She is a successful director who is an advocate for diversity on Hollywood films.

2. Where do the specific events in the story take place? Describe the setting and how it influences the plot and characters.
The story is about the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' vote to increase the number of women and minorities in its members. DuVernay was encouraged by that vote and reacted by sponsoring a lunch to discuss diversity and change with other filmmakers.

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?
Some producers, such as Milton Justice took the opposite stance as DuVernay. He claimed that the changes by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are insulting to minorities as everyone should be nominated purely by merit, as opposed to fulfilling a diversity requirement.