Rethinking digital equity and inclusion in a pandemic world
The Beacon vision is simple: All Kansans and Missourians are equipped with the information and avenues to contribute to shaping their communities.
The stakes are high. Across the U.S. more than 1,300 communities have lost their news coverage. And, according to the Federal Communications Commission, more than 24 million Americans have no access to broadband internet. In Kansas City, 17% of residents live without internet access.
The digital information divide has been exacerbated by the pandemic. And inequities are often skewed along race and class — according to the data, lack of internet access disproportionately impacts communities of color and low-income families.
To achieve an inclusive future for the Midwest, tech inequity must be eliminated in both rural and urban areas. For young people to have a fair shot at economic opportunity, they must have adequate devices and a broadband connection to the internet. For rural areas to survive, they must diversify their local economies and become accessible for jobs that use the internet.
Exploring solutions
The Beacon has received a $10,000 grant from the Solutions Journalism Network to explore digital inclusion in Kansas and Missouri. Through a series of stories, virtual events and other outreach efforts, we’re looking into digital access in Kansas and Missouri — both hardware and connectivity. Celisa Calacal, who covers economics and civic engagement issues for The Beacon, is the lead reporter. Follow her on Twitter @celisa_mia or email her at celisa@thebeacon.media.
The Beacon is actively seeking additional funding, including matching capacity building grants from local education and technology philanthropy groups, to help us turn this into a lasting project.
The series directly speaks to The Beacon’s mission of accessible public information. As journalists, it’s our duty to uncover injustice and offer pathways to spur reform. With Solutions Journalism in our toolkit, we provide credible examples of responses to problems so that doing nothing becomes unacceptable.
Stories on internet access and digital inequities in communities across the U.S. have highlighted a number of solutions to bridge the digital divide, from locally owned member cooperatives to WiFi expansion in public spaces.
As part of our reporting, The Beacon is highlighting potential solutions in other non-coastal rural and urban areas. For example, several stories in the SJN Story Tracker emphasize potential solutions that Kansas and Missouri could emulate or adapt:
- A piece by KUMN in New Mexico highlighted several community co-ops in New Mexico that provide Internet service in rural areas, essentially filling the gap left by major telecom companies.
- In Louisville, Kentucky, which is a city with a slightly larger population than Kansas City, Missouri, officials and nonprofit groups are working to expand Internet access across the urban core through a number of initiatives. The Louisville Fiber Internet Technology project, for instance, has just completed its first phase of creating “middle-mile” Internet infrastructure across the county.
- In a piece in North Carolina Health News, churches in rural communities have become crucial allies in local efforts to expand Internet access.
- A story from the Hechinger Report in April notes that school districts in Arkansas are partnering with the local PBS station to provide lesson plans and engage with students via TV programming.
