The Secret Business of Crime Chasers/Nightcrawlers
Why Freelance Media Economics Strategists Rewatch This 33-Minute LA Nightcrawler Reality Nightcrawlers work "9pm to 4am listening for specific codes across four dedicated radios police fire medical and Highway Patrol" yet "85% of job is just sitting waiting and listening, 10% chasing calls that go nowhere, just 5% actually filming editing and packaging something deliverable." Business model: "pay per use, media buy these stories and pay every time use footage in broadcast"—each "hit can range between $100 to $1,000" with "average story gets between 2 to 20 hits" but "Zach's income anywhere from $0 to $15,000 every month." The pay-per-hit volatility at 30:40 quantifies boom-bust reality: "quote unquote hit can range between $100 to $1,000 depending on nature of incident, scope of damage, exclusivity, newsroom demand and news cycle"—"average story gets between 2 to 20 hits" yet "fire had zero hits because vacant home no one inside, hidden run zero hits, shootings only had three hits because occurred day right after presidential elections newsrooms too preoccupied." Result: "Zach's income anywhere from $0 to $15,000 every month." The 85/10/5 time allocation at 20:29 reveals profession reality: "by Zach's own estimations 85% of job is just sitting waiting and listening, 10% chasing calls that go nowhere, just 5% actually filming editing and packaging something deliverable"—work "9pm to 4am all night long listening for specific codes across four dedicated radios to catch latest breaking story, feast or famine nightcrawlers live and die by the calls." The newsroom threshold filter at 17:52 exposes selection bias: "everything's in bag you got footage you got story but for some reason doesn't meet threshold from news director's perspective"—"affected by global news cycle, any type of big national news going to completely derail news cycle for us, election cycle what 3-4 days that's all they're talking about, seen National Global stories completely tank market sometimes for weeks." The mega-hit rarity at 32:02 reveals asymmetric upside: "tiny chance for some stories to reach five figures per hit, once in lifetime stories mega hits where incidents come out of nowhere but so crazy they go International overnight"—serial arsonist 2011, Christopher Dorner 2013, da Vinci fire 2014, cop killer exclusive 2023. "In Zach's 17-year career only had these five." The Hollywood distortion at 10:32 corrects stereotype: "Jake Gyllenhaal Nightcrawler movie from writing standpoint fantastic but from our perspective terrible because that's farthest from how reality is"—"99% of time worried about story, telling that story accurately, being ethical in reporting, footage is not graphic, if there is blood it's on sidewalk not person bleeding to death on camera, something you will not see on our publication." Strategic lesson: freelance news videography operates pure performance-based economics where 95% effort produces zero revenue unless incident meets dynamic newsroom threshold—monthly income swings $0 to $15K with asymmetric upside from five mega-hits across 17-year career versus Hollywood portrayal of unethical gore-chasing. 5 Key Timestamps: [20:29] The 85/10/5 Time Allocation Reality – Zach estimates 85% job just sitting waiting listening, 10% chasing calls go nowhere, 5% actually filming editing packaging deliverable—work 9pm to 4am listening four radios [17:52] The Newsroom Threshold Filter – "Everything in bag got footage got story but doesn't meet threshold from news director's perspective"—global news cycle completely derails local, election cycle tanks market sometimes for weeks [30:40] The $0 to $15K Monthly Volatility – Hit ranges $100 to $1,000, average story gets 2-20 hits but fire zero hits, hidden run zero, shootings only three—Zach's income anywhere $0 to $15,000 every month [32:02] The Five Mega-Hits in 17 Years – Tiny chance stories reach five figures per hit, once in lifetime mega hits go International overnight—serial arsonist 2011, Dorner 2013, da Vinci fire 2014, cop killer 2023, only five in 17-year career [10:32] The Hollywood Distortion Correction – "Jake Gyllenhaal Nightcrawler movie fantastic from writing standpoint but from our perspective terrible farthest from reality"—99% time worried about accurate ethical reporting, footage not graphic, blood on sidewalk not person bleeding
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