From movies to crime, more than 712,000 people read the Beacon-Villager online in 2018.
Here’s what caught’s people interest.
Readers reached for the stars this year – literally. The most read story – with 14,870 readers — was “From Hollywood to Maynard: Filming begins on Main Street.” This was the first glimpse people had of film star Daniel Craig, who was spotted in downtown Maynard … as work got underway on a picture with the working title “Morning Bell.” Fascination with the movie didn’t end there. More than 13,000 readers clicked on the story “Town of Maynard chosen as site for new movie” followed by “New movie to be filmed in Maynard,” which garnered nearly 5,500 readers and “Close to start of production, film still remains a mystery,” which reached more than 3,000 readers.
Police stories also drew people’s attention in 2018. The most read story in that category was “Police arrest two men involved in beating,” read by 8,234 people. The story told how two men from Clinton were arrested after allegedly beating a 29-year-old man at the corner of Powder Mill Road and Waltham Street.
“Maynard, Stow police investigating fatal motorcycle wreck,” a story of a single-operator motorcycle crash which left a 29-year-old Maynard man dead, was read by more than 2,200 people.
Not surprisingly, readers were also interested in the development project at 129 Parker St. The story “Work continues at Maynard Crossing at 129 Parker St.” captured 3,436 readers, followed by “Construction pending for Maynard Crossing at 129 Parker St.,” with more than 1,700 readers.
Readers were also interested in stories that shared what their kids were doing. “Football: Maynard holds off Littleton for first place” came in first in that category, reaching 2,189 readers. The story detailed how the Maynard High football team came from behind to defeat Littleton and hold on to its first place standing in Mid-Wach C.
Also trending was “Maynard High Class of 2018 shares memories, laughs and advice at graduation ceremony,” which was read by 1,646 people.
Photos also took center stage in 2018. Our top photo galleries were: Hollywood Comes to Maynard, viewed by more than 11,000 people and 52nd Annual Christmas Parade, with more than 9,000 viewers. These were followed by Maynard’s Class of 2018 graduates, with more than 5,000 viewers and pictures of guys and gals in prom finery in Maynard High School Prom, with more than 4,800 viewers.