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Disconnected: Remote Work And Virtual Learning Without Broadband Access

WUNC News | By Anita Rao,
Amanda Magnus
Published March 17, 2020 at 12:07 PM EDT
'Disconnected' from WRAL examines the urban-rural divide in access to broadband.
'Disconnected' from WRAL examines the urban-rural divide in access to broadband.
'Disconnected' from WRAL examines the urban-rural divide in access to broadband.
Credit Courtesy of Clay Johnson
'Disconnected' from WRAL examines the urban-rural divide in access to broadband.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed everyday life for most North Carolinians as state and federal officials encourage people to stay in their homes and practice social distancing. Many employers are enforcing strict work-from-home policies, and Gov. Roy Cooper ordered all North Carolina schools to close for two weeks. 

Host Anita Rao talks to WRAL and Capitol Broadcasting Company documentary producer Clay Johnson and North Carolina ‘department of Public Instruction program director LaTricia Townsend about the digital divide in North Carolina.

What about those people who do not have access to high-speed internet? Host Anita Rao talks to producer Clay Johnson about the latest documentary from WRAL and Capitol Broadcasting Company called “Disconnected," which looks at the digital divide and the role it plays in two rural North Carolina towns. Then Rao talks to LaTricia Townsend, director of the Federal Program Monitoring and Support Division for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, about how school systems across the state have worked to bridge the gap between those with internet access and those without. “Disconnected” premieres Thursday, March 19 at 7:30 p.m. on WRAL-TV, WILM-TV in Wilmington, wraldocumentary.com and the WRAL channels on Amazon, Apple TV and Roku.

Copyright 2020 North Carolina Public Radio
Anita Rao
Anita Rao is the host and creator of "Embodied," a live, weekly radio show and seasonal podcast about sex, relationships & health. She's also the managing editor of WUNC's on-demand content. She has traveled the country recording interviews for the Peabody Award-winning StoryCorps production department, founded and launched a podcast about millennial feminism in the South, and served as the managing editor and regular host of "The State of Things," North Carolina Public Radio's flagship daily, live talk show. Anita was born in a small coal-mining town in Northeast England but spent most of her life growing up in Iowa and has a fond affection for the Midwest.
See stories by Anita Rao
Amanda Magnus
Amanda Magnus grew up in Maryland and went to high school in Baltimore. She became interested in radio after an elective course in the NYU journalism department. She got her start at Sirius XM Satellite Radio, but she knew public radio was for her when she interned at WNYC. She later moved to Madison, where she worked at Wisconsin Public Radio for six years. In her time there, she helped create an afternoon drive news magazine show, called Central Time. She also produced several series, including one on Native American life in Wisconsin. She spends her free time running, hiking, and roller skating. She also loves scary movies.
See stories by Amanda Magnus