Extreme Paparazzis: The Scoop Hunters

Road accidents, fires, murders, shootings and police chases… US news channels are dedicating more and more airtime to covering these events.  Every evening, hundreds of professionals go scoop hunting. Their goal: to capture the most sensational stories in images to feed the continuous news channels that love these news items. To achieve this, there is only one solution: be on the alert all night aboard a vehicle over-equipped with radios connected to the various police, fire and sheriff departments. A relentless hunt that can bring a lot to these night men up to 20,000 dollars a month…

One of the favorite playgrounds of these scoop hunters is Los Angeles. With an average of 150 accidents per day, 749 car chases and 394 murders, the city has become the emblematic place for races with shocking images. Zak Holman has become the king of night reporters. At 33, he has created a veritable empire here. And to stay at the top, he does not hesitate to take all the risks: chases at more than 200 km/h on the highway, fires and shootings… Nothing stops him. Every evening, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., the man covers about ten calls for a minimum loot of $2,000. At his side, Jack Reynolds, his employee and friend. Trained by the best, this young 29-year-old reporter has smelled the right story that he can sell for several hundred dollars. With a dismal highway crash and a globally broadcast shootout with star rapper Kodak Black, Jack hits the mark.

On the other side of town, Jamie Araki, is trying somehow to find a place for herself in this ultra-competitive and above all, very dangerous environment. Every evening, the 22-year-old young woman takes big risks alone in her car in the heart of the riskiest neighborhoods of the city.

In Texas, in San Antonio, business is booming for Ken Branca. At 41, he is the town reporter. In 10 years, he has seen everything, filmed everything. He specialies in shootings. This year, Ken is twice as busy. He has covered fifty shootings in the past two months.

We followed these extreme scoop chasers for months to record the stories behind the stories.