Free
Phase 1
Orientation
Introduction to the Stringer Business, expectations, lifestyle, and the learning curve.
Modules 1–2
The Real-World News & Media Academy
Learn the side of journalism they don’t teach in school.
Field-tested training in finding stories, filming safely, understanding news value, licensing footage, and building a real media business from your camera.
Created by Howard Raishbrook, founder of RMG News, creator of Shot in the Dark, technical consultant on Nightcrawler, and executive producer of First on Scene.
Built from the world behind
Netflix Original Series
Technical Consulting
Amazon · Roku · Tubi
25+ Years of Breaking News
Netflix Original Series
Technical Consulting
Amazon · Roku · Tubi
25+ Years of Breaking News
12
Phases
65
Video Modules
25+
Years in the Field
As seen on
Netflix
Silver Telly Award
Bonus Industry Guests*
*Included with Elite Tier
“What you see in Shot in the Dark is real: the instincts, the professionalism, the results. This Academy is the playbook behind everything you watched.”
Jeff Daniels, Director
Who this is for
This is built for students, shooters, freelancers, and media creators across every market.
Journalism Students
Media & Film Students
Photojournalists
Freelancers
Small-Market Reporters
International Students
Videographers
Broadcast Students
Media Creators
Not just Los Angeles.
Every market has stories. The skills travel.
- You’re studying journalism, media, film, broadcast, or communications and want real-world field training to go with your education.
- You’re a photojournalist, videographer, or local news shooter who wants to turn strong camera work into more valuable media opportunities.
- You live outside Los Angeles and want to apply news value, field safety, pitching, and footage licensing to your own market.
- You’re a freelancer who wants to move beyond one-off camera jobs and build a more focused, professional media business.
- You watched Shot in the Dark, discovered RMG News through Nightcrawler, or have always wondered how news footage becomes a real media business.
Course Structure
12 Phases · 65 Modules
A practical roadmap from finding stories and working safely in the field to shooting, packaging, pitching, licensing, and building long-term media value.
Free
PHASE 01
Orientation
Starter — The Foundation
PHASE 02
Getting Started
PHASE 03
Gear, Tools & Getting Ready
Signature — The Working StringerIncludes 28-document resource library
PHASE 04
Finding Stories
PHASE 05
Safety, Law & Ethics
PHASE 06
Getting There First
PHASE 07
Shooting the Story
PHASE 08
Editing, Writing & Packaging
PHASE 09
Selling & Monetization
Elite — The Pro OperatorIncludes full 43-document resource library + expanding guest interview library
PHASE 10
Advanced Story Craft
PHASE 11
Advanced Business & Systems
PHASE 12
Elite Thinking
This may not be the right fit if…
- You’re looking for guaranteed income, instant results, or a promised job. No course can honestly offer that.
- You want a passive, watch-only experience instead of practical training you actually apply.
- You’re not ready to go out, shoot, practice, make mistakes, build contacts, and do the work.
Why RMG News Academy
What school and YouTube don’t usually teach
School can teach the foundations. Online videos can answer specific questions. But field work has another layer: judgment, safety, timing, pitching, licensing, and knowing what footage is worth. RMG News Academy is built for that gap.
Media Degree
YouTube / Self-Taught
RMG News Academy
Field-tested training from decades of real breaking-news coverage
Often classroom-based
Scattered advice
✓Field-tested system
How to recognize, package, pitch, and license valuable news footage
Rarely taught
Pieced together
✓Taught step by step
Field safety, press rights, ethics, and on-scene professionalism
Sometimes covered
Often missing
✓Covered early
Real-world instincts, presence, and human trust that AI can’t replace
Discussed in theory
Often overlooked
✓Taught throughout the training
Structured training you can test before you invest
Big commitment
Search and guess
✓Try it free
The curriculum
The complete real-world system: from finding stories to building a media business
A 12-phase, 65-module roadmap through finding real stories, working safely, filming what matters, packaging footage, pitching buyers, licensing media, and building long-term value.
By the end, you’ll understand how news footage becomes more than a clip: a story, an asset, and a piece of a real media business.
FREE TIER
$0
STARTER TIER
$29
$149 value
SIGNATURE TIER
Includes 28-document resource library
$397
$897 value
ELITE TIER
Includes full 43-document resource library + guest interviews
$1,497
$2,997 value
Starter
Phase 2
Getting Started
Your beginner roadmap, getting ready, and understanding your local media market.
Modules 3–4
Starter
Phase 3
Gear, Tools & Getting Ready
Minimum viable gear, scanners and apps, 4K questions, mobile command center, news cycle timing.
Modules 5–9
Signature
Phase 4
Finding Stories
Scanner fundamentals, police codes, encryption, pattern recognition, and tip networks.
Modules 10–14
Signature
Phase 5
Safety, Law & Ethics
Safety gear, fire and freeway dangers, protest safety, press rights, handling arrests, footage as evidence, and ethics.
Modules 15–26
Signature
Phase 6
Getting There First
Road knowledge, area awareness, parking strategy, and the first 60 seconds on scene.
Modules 27–31
Signature
Phase 7
Shooting the Story
Camera mastery for news, what to shoot first, must-get visuals, and how to position yourself better than the competition.
Modules 32–35
Signature
Phase 8
Editing, Writing & Packaging
Editing for station editors, getting facts right, and using AI for captions and headlines.
Modules 36–38
Signature
Phase 9
Selling & Monetization
Who buys footage, what sells and what doesn't, TV shows, contracts, and tip fees.
Modules 39–51
Elite
Phase 10
Advanced Story Craft
Competitive and official interviews, sourcing outside footage, drone use, wildlife footage.
Modules 52–56
Elite
Phase 11
Advanced Business & Systems
Distribution, archive monetization, company and agency building, brand strategy, and accounting and tax systems.
Modules 57–63
Elite
Phase 12
Elite Thinking
Story judgment, elite decision-making, and long-term mental and career sustainability.
Modules 64–65
See if the Academy is right for you.
Start free with two modules. No card required. No commitment.
Start Free: 2 Modules
Elite Tier Extra
Conversations with people from inside the industry
Go beyond the course modules with exclusive interviews featuring seasoned news industry professionals, from veteran assignment-desk editors and fire department PIOs to copyright attorneys. Learn directly from those who've spent their careers in the field, with new expert interviews added as the Academy grows.
Jack Noyes
48-Year News Veteran | Former NBC Los Angeles Assignment Editor
Go behind the assignment desk with Jack Noyes, a 48-year news veteran who spent more than two decades at NBC Los Angeles.
Discover how newsrooms evaluate breaking news, what makes a stringer's pitch stand out, when to call the desk, and how editors decide which stories are worth buying.
Jack shares an insider's perspective on what assignment desks really want from freelance news crews.
Adam Van Gerpen
Fire Captain | Public Information Officer
Go behind the scenes with Adam Van Gerpen, a Fire Captain with more than 27 years of service and experience as a Public Information Officer.
Discover how PIOs manage information during breaking news incidents, why certain details take time to release, and how freelance journalists can build productive relationships with official sources.
Adam shares valuable insights into media briefings, press conferences, and working professionally with emergency responders.
David Deal
Intellectual Property Attorney | Founder, Deal Copyright Law
Protect the footage and photographs you work so hard to capture. Join David Deal, founder of Deal Copyright Law, whose firm has handled more than 3,500 copyright infringement cases.
Learn how copyright protects your work, when fair use applies to news coverage, and what to do when your footage is used without permission.
David shares practical insights into copyright registration, unauthorized use, and protecting your rights as a freelance news shooter.
The work
The credibility behind the Academy
The Academy is built from RMG News’ 25+ years of experience across breaking news, television, media production, and footage licensing.
On Screen & Behind the Camera
Shot in the Dark
First on Scene
Nightcrawler
XRC (Extreme Reality Clips)
Stringers: LA
18,000+ Stories Archived
Field Production
RMG News
Award-Winning Coverage
Trusted By Newsrooms & Networks
For decades, RMG News footage has been licensed to local, national, and international newsrooms, broadcast networks, and media platforms. Selected clients include:
Local & Wire
CBS2 · NBC4 · KTLA5 · ABC7 · FOX11 · LA Times · AP
National & International
BBC · CBS · NBC · ABC · FOX · Sky News · Univision · Telemundo
Media & Entertainment
Jimmy Kimmel Live! · Entertainment Tonight · TMZ · Washington Post · New York Post · Daily Mail · The Ellen Show · National Geographic · Discovery · PBS
Plus dozens more newsrooms and networks across the U.S. and internationally.
Featured Clients & Productions
Selected productions, streamers, documentary projects, and entertainment clients that have licensed RMG News footage.
Virgin River
The Lost Bus
The Kardashians
Rebuilding Paradise
Bring Your Own Brigade
Press, Features & Appearances
And it’s that real-world experience that shapes this Academy.
Founder, RMG News Academy
As Seen On
NETFLIX
Silver Telly Award
18,000+
Stories Archived
25+
Years in the Field
Real coverage. Real credits. Real training.
The Origin Story
Built in Los Angeles. Designed to travel.
"I started with an old camera, a $100 scanner, and no contacts. What I was missing wasn’t better gear. It was a clear way to understand the work, the business, and the value of the footage."
At 18, Howard left the UK for Los Angeles with a camera, ambition, and no clear roadmap. He didn’t arrive with contacts, a crew, or a guaranteed path into the industry. He came with a desire to work in news, television, and production, and the willingness to figure it out the hard way.
For 25+ years, Howard helped build RMG News into what the Los Angeles Times called a “well-oiled news-gathering force,” covering breaking news, supplying major outlets, and building an archive from thousands of fires, crashes, rescues, pursuits, disasters, and major news events across Los Angeles.
That same archive also helped fuel RMG projects, including XRC and SHAK, spanning more than 100 episodes and generating over $1 million in footage sales.
That experience helped shape Shot in the Dark, informed the realism behind Nightcrawler, and continues to shape RMG News and First on Scene. RMG News Academy turns those lessons into practical training for journalism students, photojournalists, videographers, freelancers, and creators who want to understand the business behind the footage they capture.
See the curriculum built from 25+ years in the field →Choose your starting point
Start free. Upgrade when you’re ready.
Then choose your path
Starter TierThe Foundation
$29
$149 value
One-time · Phases 1–3 · 9 modules
The entry-level roadmap: learn the basics of the business, understand your local media market, choose a starter setup, learn how to use scanners and apps, and understand why news cycle timing matters.
Explore Starter Tier
Signature TierThe Working Stringer
$397
$897 value
One-time · Phases 1–9 · 51 modulesIncludes Free + Starter
The core training path: go beyond the basics with story finding, field safety, press rights, shooting, packaging, newsroom relationships, and the business of selling and licensing news footage.
Includes Phases 1–9 · 51 modules · 28-document resource library
Explore Signature Tier
Elite TierThe Pro Operator
$1,497
$2,997 value
One-time · All 12 phases · 65 modulesIncludes Free + Starter + Signature
The most complete training path: everything in Starter and Signature, plus advanced story craft, interviews, drone use, archive strategy, distribution, agency building, brand strategy, financial tools, and long-term career sustainability.
Includes all 12 phases · 65 modules · guest interview series · full 43-document resource library
Explore Elite Tier
Quick Answers
Before you start
What do I get free?
Create a free RMG News Academy account to unlock the first two modules. No card required. No commitment.
What happens after I start free?
Once you register, you’ll get access to your student dashboard and the first two modules. You can work through them at your own pace and upgrade to a paid tier whenever you’re ready.
How do the paid tiers work?
Each tier unlocks more of the 12-phase, 65-module roadmap, from beginner foundations to advanced business and licensing.
Can I upgrade to a higher tier later, and how much will it cost?
Absolutely! You can upgrade to a higher tier whenever you're ready, and you'll only pay the difference in price. Whatever you've already paid toward your current tier is credited toward your upgrade, so you're never paying twice for the same content. As you move up, you'll unlock the additional modules, resources, and benefits included in your new tier.
Is the course self-paced?
Yes. The Academy is built as self-paced video training, so you can move through the roadmap around your own schedule.
Do I need expensive gear?
No. You can start with basic equipment, even a cell phone. The course shows you what matters, what can wait, and how to build your setup properly as you grow.
Is this only for people in Los Angeles?
No. It is built from Howard’s experience in one of the most competitive news markets in the world, but the skills are designed to transfer: finding real stories, working safely, filming what matters, packaging footage, and understanding its value.
Is this a journalism degree or certification?
No. It is practical field and media-business training built from real-world experience.
Is there a refund policy?
Yes. Paid tiers are backed by a 14-day refund window. Some limitations apply. See Refund & Billing.
"What you see in Shot in the Dark is real: the instincts, the professionalism, the results. This Academy is the playbook behind everything you watched."
— Jeff Daniels, Director
Explore the Academy. Start with two modules free.
Start free with no card required, or compare the tiers to see exactly which path fits you.