Best of Boston

2023 Best Social Media Personality

Matt Shearer, WBZ

A video reporter for the radio station WBZ, Shearer has become a social media sensation for his spin on traditional man-on-the-street interviews, a freewheeling format in which he asks Bay State residents probing questions about their home localities. For example: How did Billericans feel when one of three Market Baskets on the same street (Boston Road, naturally) closed? “I actually cried,” a customer named Peggy told him gravely. “I felt like I lost a part of my family.” The accents always fly, but what makes the videos sing are heartfelt, hysterical contributions from subjects like these.