Maria Eberhart covers Maryland’s rural-urban digital divide for Technical.ly. Before joining Report for America, Eberhart worked as an editorial assistant at Pitchfork, handling administrative responsibilities alongside pitching album reviews. She also previously interned at the Baltimore Sun, where she covered breaking news and wrote feature stories about Charm City’s art scene. Eberhart graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 2023.
Beat: Tech and digital equity in the Greater Baltimore region
Like much of the U.S., Maryland experiences significant disparities in digital access and tech job opportunities, particularly between tech-savvy urban centers like Baltimore and underserved rural areas such as those in Western Maryland and the Eastern Shore. Outside the city center, many communities lack high-speed internet, creating a significant barrier to economic mobility, education and participation in the modern workforce. Meanwhile, urban residents often face their own inequities, particularly communities of color that have historically been excluded from tech-driven economic growth. This reporter will embed within the region’s communities to tell these stories, producing multimedia work to shine a spotlight on the individuals and communities affected by these issues and working toward solutions.