ming) (upbeat rock music) - Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of art.

(train clanging) And journalism is storytelling.

I like to think of journalism less like a spreadsheet and more like a canvas.

Hey, it's Matt Shearer from WBZ NewsRadio.

I'm in Attleboro.

This is about as close as they let get to Rhode Island.

(upbeat rock music continues) Hey, can I talk to you on the radio real quick?

Wanna be on the radio?

Hey, can I talk to you on the radio real quick?

No?

All right.

I'm Matt Shearer.

I'm a reporter for WBZ NewsRadio, perhaps best known for my social media antics.

What would Hollywood be without Acton, Massachusetts?

Do you call is Ashland or Ashland.

- Ashland.

- Ashland.

(girl laughing) His name is Sam, and if you knock twice, (hand knocking) he'll give you the good stuff.

Some of them have gotten millions and millions of views, which is really exciting.

This house in Topsfield just got posted on Zillow this week, and it's already goin' viral.

Let's see why.

- First bedroom.

- [Matt] Okay.

- [Woman] And here's another bedroom.

- [Matt] Okay.

I know what you're thinking.

How much does it cost?

- $1,069,000, Matt Shearer.

- Oh.

George, where are you from?

- Attleboro.

- Do you like Attleboro?

- It's okay.

- [Matt] Uh, just okay?

Why just okay?

- Well, why not?

- One thing that I always notice when I put up a story about a small town is everybody in that town shares the story.

People of Shrewsbury seem like a friendly, inviting, and stylish bunch.

Because they want everybody to know this is where I'm from.

This story was made specifically for me.

You know, you see other news shows show up in a town after weeks and weeks of extensive research into the town, and me, I like to just show up with zero prior research and see where the day takes me.

This is gonna be great.

There's like nobody walkin' around.

(laughing) It's not always about finding people on the street because, ooh, I see a tattoo shop right there.

I'm sure there are gonna be some people in a tattoo shop.

(hand knocking) (upbeat keyboard music) Hey, what's up, man?

I'm Matt Shearer.

I'm a reporter with WBZ NewsRadio.

Nice to meet you.

(mellow music) So, what's your first and last name and title here?

- My name is Diego Borges, and I am the CEO of the studio.

- There you go, hell yeah.

So, what is this studio called?

- It's called Blue Diamond Tattoo Studio.

- There we go.

(mellow music continues) - [Diego] So I got the stencil for ya.

- [Matt] All right.

How cool is it that you get to do art for a living?

- Ah, it's awesome.

- Right.

People pay you for it.

- People pay me for it, man.

- Boom.

Sick.

All right, see you, man.

See you, Diego.

So, somebody had recommended to me a really good hot dog place.

Oh my gosh, there it is.

That's hilarious.

Wait, I gotta pull over right now.

I'm gettin' lunch.

(upbeat big band music) (door creaking) Ah, thanks so much.

Hey, how's it goin'?

- I said this is the best hot dog place ever.

- [Matt] What makes it so good?

- The sauce is just to die for.

- Mmm.

On a cold day like this, chili dogs just taste different.

A warm chili dog, and it's a warm bun too.

Oh my God.

What's your name?

- Steve.

- Steve, where are you from?

- Attleboro.

- Do you like it here?

- Yes, I moved out of Boston to here.

- What do you do for work?

- I work at Stop & Shop in Foxboro.

- Oh yeah?

- Yeah.

- And then you go home and go to bed.

- I go home and go get in and sleep.

And then come back to work.

(laughing) A great hot dog place though.

- Really?

- Yes.

- What's great about it?

- Hot dogs, they got chili sauce that goes one 'em like eating down South.

- [Matt] Maybe I'll come visit you at work.

- All right, come over.

- Can I?

- Yeah sure.

- All right, I'll come say hi.

(upbeat big band music ends) So, I'll pull in just, I guess, right here.

We were out there for about three hours, and I just kept the audio rolling the whole time.

Hey, it's Matt Shearer from WBZ NewsRadio.

I'm in Attleboro.

This is about as close as they let me get to Rhode Island.

I'm pullin' out clips and moments that I like.

What do you do for work?

- [Steve] I work at Stop & Shop in Foxboro.

- Let me start with this guy just 'cause I liked him the most.

And I was gonna say your accent doesn't quite scream Boston to me.

- Sure, I'm from South Boston.

(laughing) North Carolina.

- That was funny.

Maybe I'll come visit you at work.

- All right, come over.

- We should do that.

We should visit him at work.

That'd be fun.

- All right, come over.

- Can I?

- Yeah, sure.

- All right, I'll come say hi.

Ah, we should bring him a hot dog at work.

We're gonna go back.

We're gonna get him some hot dogs.

We're gonna go find him at Stop & Shop in Foxboro, and we're gonna make his day.

Yes.

I always find myself coming out of doing this having made friends.

Perfect, thanks so much.

Hey, appreciate it.

Chest bump.

And that's something that I know a lot of journalists try to stay away from, but I don't know, man.

I feel like building a connection, that's what gets people to open up to you and give you the best answer.

Back in December, I met someone in Boston who was singing on the streets of Boston.

♪ I'll be home for Christmas ♪ - She had this unbelievable voice, and she told me her dream was to get into a studio and record her original song that she had written.

So, two days later.

- Do you want me to sing it?

- [Matt] Well, I'm taking you to a recording studio.

- Are you serious?

- [Matt] Yeah.

- [Ara] No.

- [Matt] I'm serious.

- [Ara] No.

(crying) - [Matt] We're going to the Record Co in Dorchester.

- [Ara] Are you serious?

- [Matt] I have a professional audio engineer.

- Oh my goodness, yes.

- She wasn't asking me for help, but she mentioned that casually, and I thought to myself, well, I have the ability to do that.

It's already up on Bandcamp so you can stream it for free or pay whatever you want to download it.

100% of that money goes to Ara.

- [Ara] Thank you for believing in me, Matt.

It means the world to me, man.

- Was I reporting?

Was I being a reporter doin' that?

Yeah, I guess to the extent where I was telling her story, but I was telling her story through trying to have a real human moment with another human being and do something special and, you know, memorable for her and myself.

And it worked.

Home ownership can be a sensitive subject for.

♪ Wishin' you were here ♪ - I've heard that there are certain people in the newsroom who aren't a huge fan of my style.

Austin loves potatoes so much we even have a monument for them.

And I'm okay with that.

I'm being chased through the woods by a bunch of goats.

(goat baaing) Ahhh.

Because I'm doing me, and I believe in what I'm doing.

How I ended up here.

(film screeching) Yes, yes, we gotta go get that hot dog.

(upbeat rock music) Hot dogs, hot diggity dogs.

(door creaking) Wup.

Yeah, I tripped, sorry.

Hey, so I'm gonna get a couple hot dogs for my friend to go.

All right, well, there we go.

Got some hot dogs.

We're gonna go bring 'em to Steve over at Stop & Shop in Foxboro.

(clip beeping) I did get an extra two to go.

- [Steve] Hello, young man, how are ya?

- [Matt] Just not for me.

That's for you, Steve.

Those are hot dogs.

- I knew it.

I looked up, I said, this is the.

Oh my God, I made a fool out of myself.

(laughing) You did say you were gonna see me.

Oh my, God have mercy.

- And I'm Matt Shearer.

If you want more, ask Alexa to play WBZ NewsRadio on iHeartRadio.

(upbeat rock music ends)