Schools across the country have been closed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, so public television stations are trying to help fill the education gap facing young people.
Neal Shapiro, president of the New York metro area public broadcasting station WNET, told Cheddar Monday that PBS stations are offering kids the tools to stay on track with their schooling via educational television.
The broadcaster has been working with a group of teachers in New Jersey to provide educational programming during the coronavirus pandemic. "Teachers are actually teaching from their very own homes, and they are using TV in a very interactive way. So, now they’re teaching from nine to one [o'clock], and each hour is a different grade," Shapiro said of the educators.
Public educational television may be a "game-changer" for children going forward, he said, even after the pandemic is over.
"As we think about how life will be different, education is one of those ways," Shapiro explained. "I think there are going to be a lot more ways in which we can use educational television to fill that gap."
PBS provides a vast range of content between its news, educational, and arts programming. Shapiro said increasing content is one way the channels can help communities hunkering down.
"If you look at what we’re doing in the arts, that’s a whole other area where public television has kind of led the way," he noted. "In New York we’ve gone back and done some of our plays over the years. So, even though Broadway is dark we’re not."
WNET has also launched an Arts Only channel where they will stream Lionsgate Live! A Night at the Movies, hosted by actress Jamie Lee Curtis who is also sheltered at home.
Shapiro said channels have seen an increase in viewership on all platforms and credits the broadcaster's unique programming.
"I think one of the reasons we are particularly up is that there are still things PBS does better than other people," he said. "There is nobody who does deep documentaries the way we do. There’s nobody who has this rich library of fantastic drama and costume drama the way that we do."
Student loan debt continues to be a major concern for tens of millions of Americans who collectively owe about $1.7 trillion. Black college students often take on larger amounts of student debt in order to pay for a higher education. In turn, they are more likely to struggle post-graduation with repaying their debt, creating a racial wealth gap divide. Andre Perry, senior fellow at Brookings Institution joined All Hands to help break down the black student debt crisis.
BTS’ hit single “Butter” tops the zeitgeist again, bumping back up to number one on Billboard’s Hot Trending Chart. The chart tracks what songs people are talking about rather than what they're listening to.
The American Red Cross has declared its first-ever "national blood crisis" in the United States. Since COVID hit the U.S. in March 2020, blood donations have declined by 10 percent. American Red Cross Medical Director, Dr. Baia Lasky joined Cheddar News to discuss the country facing the worst blood shortage in over a decade. Dr. Lasky noted that as much as 40 percent of Americans are eligible to donate blood but only about 4 percent do so. "This is going to be ongoing," she said. "This is not an acute shortage. We really do need the commitment of people to come out and donate and donate again." Appointments to donate can be made by using the Red Cross Donor App, at RedCrossBlood.org, or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
On this episode of ChedHER: Co-Founder of VC firm CaJE breaks down how she's creating a new era of venture capital and empowering Black women with 'soil' funding to start and grow their businesses; AYO Foods Co-Founder discusses how the brand is bringing West African cuisine to the frozen food industry and building a grocery aisle her daughters can be proud of; Chief Marketing & Customer Experience Officer at Chase Auto talks her experience being a woman of color in the auto industry, and why transportation is so important to financial freedom.
Renée Horne, chief marketing and customer experience officer at Chase Auto, joins ChedHER to discuss her experience being a woman of color in the auto industry and why transportation is so important to financial freedom.
Perteet Spencer, Co-Founder of AYO Foods, joins ChedHER to discuss how the brand is bringing West African cuisine to the frozen food industry and building a grocery aisle her daughters can be proud of.
Crystal Etienne, Founder and CEO of period apparel company Ruby Love and Co-Founder of VC firm CaJE, joins ChedHER to discuss her experience bootstrapping her company to $10 million, and how she's creating a new era of venture capital and empowering Black women with 'soil' funding to start and grow their businesses.
