Evaluation of New York Times Stories

Many sources of news craft their stories so that they are almost like literature, containing "main characters" who are central to the stories' plot.  There are usually the protagonists of the story and a villain, who are in some sort of disagreement.  To entertain this notion, I analyzed two stories from the New York Times and picked apart their skeletal makeup.

Arvin61r58.  "Daily News, Aliens" 1/16/16 via openclipart.  Unlimited commercial use license.

Story #1: "Payment Processor to Stop Working With Daily Fantasy Sports Clients"

1. Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they 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 does seem to be a couple main characters to the story.  The protagonist would be Vantiv Entertainment Solutions, and the antagonists would be the daily fantasy sport sites FanDuel and DraftKings.  Vantiv is the center of the story because the article is about how they are no longer processing transactions for said fantasy companies.

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.

This story doesn't seem to have a specific setting, because the actions undergone in the story were able to happen through online communication.  There is some mention of Texas and New York because they are important customers of the fantasy sports sites.

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 disagreement would be between Vantiv and the fantasy sites, because Vantiv has decided to stop handling transactions for said sites.  This decision was made due to the increasing controversy over whether or not these fantasy sites are legal or are online gambling.  There is a lot at stake for the fantasy sites, because Vantiv is a major processing company for the fantasy sites' funds, and without them, there is nothing to handle the millions of dollars that are going through the fantasy sites.

Story #2: "Vaccine for Zika Virus May Be Years Away, Disease Experts Warn"

1. Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they 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 isn't necessarily a "main character" to this story besides the Zika virus itself, but there are a number of researchers and scientists whom we hear from that are important to the story.  

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.

There isn't a specific setting, but the article is about how the Zika virus is spreading throughout the Americas.   This setting is important because it illustrates how the Zika virus is dangerous and  a vaccine needs to be found.

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 isn't really a disagreement or a debate in the story, but there is conflict between the Zika virus and researchers who are trying to engineer a cure.  There is a lot at stake for the researchers because the Zika virus is rapidly spreading and is dangerous.