A pilot program in which news was turned into song became the second most popular video feature on Boston.com last month.
For two weeks in May, Boston-area musician and composer Jake Brennan created daily music videos based on the news of the day. The videos were posted at http://www.boston.com/pop-ed each afternoon around 4 p.m., and radio station 92.9 WBOS aired the song of the day during the 9 p.m. hour.
Brennan also wrote a blog related to the program, and visitors were encouraged to submit their own lyrics for Brennan to consider.
The project was a way to test readers' appetite for video blogs, says Stephanie Shore, Boston.com's marketing director. And indeed, the songs did catch on. They were the most-viewed video content on the site after local sports videos.
Because the program was so ambitious — it was tough work to write a song and create a video every day — the program likely won't be tried again in quite the same manner. But something similar may be done, perhaps on a weekly basis with other musicians involved.
Pop-Ed was promoted on WBOS, as well as in print with ads in The Boston Globe's arts section and the daily “Sidekick” entertainment and culture supplement.
The most popular song during the two-week run was, not surprisingly, tied to the town's beloved Red Sox and former Sox pitcher Roger Clemens' return to the New York Yankees.
