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The Definition of “American Ronin”:

The Japanese word “ronin” (pronounced rō-nēn) refers to a roving, mercenary samurai who serves no master or warlord.  This is very close to the origins of the English word “freelance,” which originally referred to a knight who served no king -- literally, a knight whose “lance” was available for hire.  In other words:

a professional without a fixed employer.

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Since company founder Randy Schmidt is from the U.S., he chose the name “American Ronin” as a fancy way to say “Freelance Cameraman.”

Another cameraman parallel is found in an ancient Japanese swordplay quote:

“It takes a thousand days to develop a technique,

and ten thousand days to refine it.”

And to prove that we're not being pretentious, please note that the word ronin has recently taken on a couple of unfortunate new slang meanings in Japan: 

1) A student who has failed his University entrance exams and is waiting in limbo for a year until he can re-take them.

2) A salaryman who is “between jobs” due to company restructuring!

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As of February 2006, however, American Ronin acquired a "master" in the form of CBS News and is, therefore, no longer a "Ronin."  Click here for details!