On March 28, a masked thief broke into an $18 million mansion in Beverly. On March 31, Emily Sweeney—a Northeastern University journalism graduate who first joined The Boston Globe as a co-op—reported the story in a video posted to the outlet’s Instagram account. The clip went viral, not because of the heist’s cinematic absurdity, but because of Sweeney’s thick, classic Boston accent.

Alongside her accent, Sweeney rocks a shaven haircut and Adidas tracksuit. For the Globe’s New England audience, this combination feels uniquely authentic. And for the Globe’s newsroom, this viral moment was just enough fuel to ask Sweeney to read more headlines on their social media feed. 

The Instagram video currently stands at _ views and _ likes. Comments under the video include, “Honestly, I need this reporter telling every single story going forward,” “I’m happy the CayreTakah is safe” and “The only thing crazier than this home invasion is her wicked hahd accent.” 

Sweeney writes two columns: “Blotter Tales” and “Cold Case Files.” She has also written three books: “Boston Organized Crime” and “Gangland Boston,” both about the city’s robust criminal history, and “Dropkick Murphy: A Legendary Life,” which details the life of the professional wrestler — and inspiration of the band’s name — John Murphy.

In an interview, edited and condensed for length and clarity, Emily Sweeney described her viral moment and the impact that it has had on her career and the Globe’s newsroom. 

How have your responsibilities at the Globe shifted between print and digital media? 

It’s been a crazy two weeks. I did a news report about the robbery in Beverly at the mansion. Since that went viral I’ve been doing videos regularly now for the Globe. And we’re just kind of experimenting with social media. So far, all the videos have been doing pretty well. And I’m actually excited because I’ve always really been into video. I’ve always wanted to do it. And I’ve always made videos on the side. Over the past two weeks, I’ve been able to kind of break away from my print responsibilities — I also cover breaking news — and devote more time to video. We’re gonna, hopefully, knock on wood, keep going. I’d love to keep doing the videos. 

One of the things that makes me really excited is that some of the people who comment are saying [they] don’t even like to listen to the news … but they’re okay hearing some headlines from me. And so that gives me hope.

Why do you think your videos have received so much attention?

It’s weird because I never even pay attention to my accent. Like to me, it sounds so normal. But people say the accent kind of reminds them of home if they’re from Boston. And, you know, I dress casually.… I’m really glad that the Globe is giving me a chance just to read headlines, because I feel like I’m more of a normal person. Maybe not normal, because you don’t see a ton of people on TV that look like me. I hope that I come across as just a regular person telling the news … I think these days, people are looking for — people keep saying the word around here — authentic.

Did you anticipate your videos blowing up?

No, definitely not. I was just like, “wow, I said ‘caretaker.’ How the hell do you say it?” People were going crazy about how I was saying it in the comments. And I still think I say it normal. But yeah, totally unexpected. I was just reading the news, like how I normally do … and I just so happened to be wearing — you know, I wear a lot of track jackets — so I was wearing the Adidas. Ittook me by surprise. But it was a very pleasant surprise, because the feedback has been so positive, overwhelmingly so. And as a journalist, I’ve been worried for many, many years now about the future of mainstream media and legacy organizations. And the fact that people react so positively, it’s kind of given me hope that just because I’m attached to a mainstream media organization, you’ll still watch.

Can you describe the moment that the Globe told you that they want you to do more videos?

I was writing a story about the Beverly mansion robbery, and I got the homeowner on the phone. It was just like an average day. And they’re like, “hey, can you do a video?” Whenever I’ve had a chance to do videos, I jump at the chance, of course. And the next morning when it was at 900,000 views, I started looking and I’m like, “wow, that’s a lot compared to what we usually get.” Our social media team and our video folks were like, “whoa, like we’re getting such a response. Let’s do a follow-up video.” And I did the next day. And then that got a big response. My supervisors have been calling this an “experiment.” We’re gonna see how it goes. But I’m just really happy [because] it feels like we’re breaking through to another audience, and I just hope it continues.

I’ve noticed that many of your videos feature blooper reels and outtakes. Was it your idea to include them? And do you think humor can detract from the substance of a story?

All those edits can be credited to Maria Pemberton. She’s done an amazing job. She’s a co-op here. And we’ve been working together now day to day. She probably has some crazy outtakes of me. Sometimes I’ll pretend to bang my head on the thing. She hasn’t included that yet. Or when I’m trying to say something and I’m off by one word; it’s not like we take it a zillion takes, but when I do screw up, I kind of react. I’m a hockey player. So she has plenty of them to work with. And then as far as humor goes, I think it’s so freaking needed. I think you can cover serious stories with a sense of humor. If you approach them correctly, absolutely. I think we need more of it. Like way more.