Free food, as a reward for good performance or as an incentive to complete a project or a meet a quota, is quite common in most workplaces, both inside and outside broadcasting. As this article points out, unless its accompanied by good policies that show workers are respected and their contributions are valued, free food is seen as a bribe, rather than a perk.

RadioActive wrote:

I've never quite seen anything like it in any other business. And I wonder why it happens, especially in media?

It's restaurants hoping hosts will mention it on air or on social media. And it often works.

In the newspaper business we had free food almost once or twice per week in the advertising department, usually a Thursday or Friday.  People in the department would bring in homemade cookies or desserts, left over candies, snacks and chips from Halloween.
 
On your birthday, the birthday boy or girl would bring in coffee, muffins and donuts for the department. One of our creative people on their 50th birthday had a complete lunch catered for everyone in advertising.  Others would order 30 Egg McMuffins for the department.

We also had three or four big pot luck lunches throughout the year.  Whenever there was a big department meeting that required a catered lunch the food remaining was always put out for the rest of the staff in the luncheon area. The company would have two or three barbeques in the spring/summer months.

One advertiser sent a huge Thank You chocolate cake to our ad builders and creative for the full page ad that they put together for a big sale.  The client was blown away by the ad.  But as a rule not many advertisers would send food in.
 
Krispy Kreme sent over 4 dozen fresh warm donuts to the advertising and editorial departments when they opened in Kitchener.  Likely hoping for some free press.  But that came about two years later when they closed their locations in K/W.   

Last edited by paterson1 (May 14, 2024 11:48 am)

My mother was an emergency room nurse for many years and grateful families would often want to give gifts to nurses and doctors who had gone above and beyond in helping a family member. While flowers and gift cards were nice, the staff really appreciated homemade food or snacks. On hot summer nights in the old hospital where she'd worked, the cops or ambulance drivers would stop by with freezies and popsicles for the nurses and PSWs, which were very much appreciated.

During my time in broadcasting, we frequently distinguished between small gratuities (snacks, donuts, or soft drinks) from a client or listener and clear attempts to buy coverage (comping for full meals, movie passes or sports tickets) by advertisers. The former were accepted with thanks, while the latter were declined or in one case I remember, given to some local kids clubs. I attended a media event way back in the 90s where this was discussed and heard the late Dick Smyth say "I never felt compromised because Ford or GM bought me a rum and coke."

Last edited by BowmanvilleBob (May 14, 2024 12:14 pm)

newsguy1 wrote:

No news outlet with any integrity should accept freebees.
A good example is the above where you accept free donuts from Krispy Creme one day, then report on their demise the next.
Or for that matter, what if you accept free food from a company and the next day discover that company is engaged in union busting and firing of employees?
That being said, when your own management pays for food to be brought in, of course it's a free for all.
I too always had a good laugh when my fellow staffers would rush across the newsroom to pile a paper plate up with free grub before it was all gone.
It is also a fact that some times when news is breaking frantically and staff can't get out to eat let alone even go the the bathroom, people can work up quite an appetite.
At one point a company I worked for used to always stock the fridge with food and drinks for the Christmas holidays.
It was greatly appreciated when you had to work Christmas Day and Boxing Day, or New Years when everything was closed



 

Please, you are over thinking it.  We didn't accept the donuts and then report on their demise the next day.  They closed two or three years after the fact.  Like Target, Krispy Kreme read the market wrong and it was in the news nationwide.   Krispy Kreme also were not advertisers, they were new in town, up against Tim Horton's and gave out donuts to various businesses. I am sure they did this with all media in town and some of the larger companies.  I doubt if many of these said no thank you.  If they were a poor employer and breaking labour laws, it would be in the news.  A few calorie laden donuts isn't going to change that.  

Last edited by paterson1 (May 14, 2024 4:14 pm)

People need two things in life.  Food, and money.  The only thing that could be put out that would get more attention than free food would be bowls of free money.  It's not unique to radio, TV, or any other workplace.  Teachers are notorious for lining up like cattle for food, or anything else free.

Last edited by Walter (May 14, 2024 5:38 pm)

Saul wrote:

I'm willing to work for free money.

Good luck with that.  Are you planning to run for MP?
 

At the company I once worked for, goodies often were sent to the purchasing department. Any perishables, food etc. were offered to all employees on their lunch breaks. Other items such as booze, concert and sporting event tickets were given out via a ticket raffle. This is how I was able to see a Jets/Leaf game at MLG sitting in the Golds.

You've seen nothing until you've been witness to a bunch of cash-strapped graduate students being told there's "food after today's seminar".

RadioActive wrote:

I got a huge laugh when John Moore mentioned on Monday a throwaway line about a PR event at CFRB, which involved the sponsor bringing in free food to the station. He noted that all of it was gone in about four minutes, as the pack descended on the freebie like an invasion of locusts. 

The reason this made me laugh so much was because I know how true it is. There's something about broadcasting and the people who work in it that makes them go absolutely insane whenever a free meal arrives. 

What is it about radio and TV people that leads to this? Have you experienced this? Is it like this in other jobs, too? 

A contemporary once famously said: no food, no booze, no news.