Media Now

What Media Now does

Media Now is a privately held, family-operated education business (Media Now LLC, founded 2014, domiciled in Missouri) that delivers journalism training to high school students (entering 9th grade through graduating 12th grade) and their school advisers. Its flagship offering is an immersive four-day, three-night overnight summer camp held at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where attendees select from 14 classes covering writing, design, photography, video, yearbook, editorial leadership, motion graphics, and web management, complete a portfolio-ready piece, and participate in field trips to local media facilities. Instruction is delivered at a 1:10 instructor-to-student ratio by award-winning professional journalists and nationally recognized advisers.

The company monetizes through three revenue streams: tiered one-time camp registration fees (Early Bird $465, Regular $575, Late $650), optional round-trip bus transportation from St. Louis to Des Moines, and a recurring Media Now Online subscription that provides an All-Access Pass to a library of over 170 on-demand video lessons with supplemental assignments and worksheets. In 2025 the company added the Editor Training Program, a school-year training offering for high school student editors and advisers focused on leadership, management, and program development.

Media Now is founder-owned and operated, with Kate Manfull serving as Camp Director and Aaron Manfull as Curriculum Director. The business has no disclosed outside investment, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no public listing. Its go-to-market is direct-to-consumer, relying on its website (medianow.press), email newsletter, organic social (Twitter/X), school and adviser referral networks, and text updates via the Remind app. The customer base is a long-tail of individual students and advisers transacting in small dollar amounts, with no enterprise contracts or named anchor accounts disclosed. Geographic operations are concentrated in the U.S. Midwest, with administrative operations based in St. Charles, Missouri, and the primary training venue at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

Name

Media Now

Legal name

Media Now LLC

Website

https://medianow.press

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Media Now LLC is a privately held, family-operated education company that runs an annual four-day overnight high school journalism summer camp at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, alongside a subscription on-demand video library and a school-year Editor Training Program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Journalism Education Services

NAICS

RV (Recreational Vehicle) Parks and Recreational Camps (7212), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

Writing, Journalism & Publishing Camps (EDAMALAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Student Media & Publications (Newspaper, Radio, TV) (EDALAHAE), Summer/Conference Housing & Guest Accommodations (EDALACAI)

Keywords

• Journalism education programs
• Student media training
• Summer journalism camp
• Editorial leadership courses
• Scholastic press training

Headquarters

HQ city

St. Charles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Camp Registration Fees: One-time registration fees for the four-day overnight summer camp experience. Tiered pricing with Early Bird ($465), Regular ($575), and Late ($650) registration options. Includes instruction, housing, meals, field trips, and materials.
2. Transportation Services: Optional round-trip bus transportation from St. Louis to Des Moines available for additional fee.
3. Online Course Subscription: Media Now Online provides on-demand access to over 170 videos with supplemental assignments and worksheets for year-round learning. All-Access Pass subscription for classroom support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Media Now runs a four-day overnight immersive summer journalism camp at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, for high school students and advisers, with hands-on training in reporting, editing, design, photojournalism, and live newsroom operations. The camp is paired with Media Now Online, an on-demand video library of 170+ lessons, and an Editor Training Program delivered during the school year for student editorial leaders.

Product overview

Media Now is an education-focused organization offering a portfolio of journalism training programs for high school students and advisers. The core offerings include the in-person Summer Camp at Drake University (an intensive four-day overnight experience), the year-round Editor Training Program (school year leadership development), and Media Now Online (an on-demand video library with 170+ courses). These products work together to provide comprehensive journalism education from summer intensive training to ongoing school-year support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Media Now Online: On-demand library of over 170 videos with supplemental assignments and worksheets designed to support classroom journalism education.
• Editor Training Program

Products and services

• Media Now Summer Camp A four-day overnight immersive summer journalism program at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, for high school journalism students. The camp covers reporting, writing, editing, design, photojournalism, broadcast, and editorial leadership through small-group instruction and a Live Newsroom simulation.
• Media Now Online An on-demand video learning library with 170+ videos covering journalism fundamentals, writing, editing, design, and editorial leadership, available by subscription to high school journalism students and advisers for year-round training.
• Editor Training Program A school-year training program for high school student editors and editorial leaders, extending Media Now's journalism instruction into the academic year to develop editorial staff and publication leadership.

Quantifiable outcome

• Small class sizes with 1:10 instructor-to-student ratio for maximum individual attention
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Drake UniversitycoreOthersHost venue for the annual summer camp. Students stay in Carpenter Hall dormitory on campus. Classes and activities held in university facilities including the Olmsted Center. Provides authentic college campus experience for participants.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Others

• Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ): National professional journalism organization that runs training, awards, and student programs (SPJ/SDX). Adjacent rather than directly competitive, but addresses the same broader high-school-and-beyond journalism audience.

Broad incumbents

• National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA): National membership organization serving high school journalists and advisers. Overlaps with Media Now on audience and curriculum content but competes as a broader industry body rather than a single paid program.
• Poynter Institute: Established journalism training institution that offers seminars, online courses (e.g., News University), and in-person programs. Competes with Media Now Online in the journalism-education content market for both students and professionals.
• Journalism Education Association (JEA): National professional organization for high school journalism teachers and advisers. Competes for adviser mind-share and professional-development dollars that Media Now's Editor Training Program targets.
• Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA): Columbia University-affiliated organization supporting scholastic journalism through critiques, conventions, and awards. Overlaps with Media Now's mission of training student journalists and advisers.

Direct peers

• University of Texas Summer Journalism Workshop: College of Communication-hosted summer workshop for high school journalism students, comparable to Media Now on residential format, target audience (grades 9–12), and curriculum offerings (writing, design, broadcast).
• Kent State University High School Journalism Workshop: Multi-day residential journalism workshop for high school students hosted on a university campus, directly comparable to Media Now's Drake-format camp in audience, duration, and experiential model.
• Indiana University High School Journalism Institute: Residential summer institute serving high school journalism students and their advisers at Indiana University. Directly comparable on target audience (students + advisers), format (multi-day on-campus), and curriculum depth.
• Mizzou Media Workshop: University of Missouri's flagship summer journalism program for high school students. Media Now actually ran a 'Media Now Mizzou' camp in 2017, making the Mizzou Media Workshop a directly comparable residential high school journalism training peer.
• Medill High School Journalism Institute (Northwestern): Northwestern's Medill School hosts residential summer journalism programs for high school students, serving the same niche audience with a similar multi-day campus experience and competing for the same pool of college-application-motivated students.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/MediaNowBuzz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/media-now

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Media Now