Trade deficit

Before money existed, the barter system was the means of exchange. You trade me a bunch of apples, I give you an egg laying chicken.

Seems pretty antiquated, but it is alive and well in broadcasting. The "trade-out" is a time honored sales tool that sometimes benefits both sides and TV station employees.

Or sometimes not.

I often advocate that people should ask for things like hair and clothing allowances when negotiating a contract, and many of you probably don't know that cash often doesn't change hands in these deals. Sometimes you can end up with good stuff, and other times the "allowance" can be worthless.

I learned of the trade-out system at my first radio station. The GM loved to trade advertising time for products, most of which we'd give away as prizes, some of which were used by the staff. When it came to prizes, the guy traded for everything from really nice clock radios to Caribbean vacations. He once traded with a candy company for hundreds of chocolate rabbits, which he stored in my office. (Big mistake on his part.) We tried to give away the rabbits for Easter, but people weren't that interested in driving to a radio station to pick up three bucks worth of chocolate. So the staff ate them all. (You never saw such a group on a sugar high.) At one point the GM had sold some advertising to a funeral home, which prompted his very sarcastic secretary to ask when typing up the contract, "Is this a trade?"

Which brings us back to your contract. When you are offered a perk on your contract, like a clothing allowance, you should find out the parameters of the trade-out.

In some stations you might be allowed to do your own shopping, then bring the receipts back to the station for reimbursement. You might be allowed to pick your own hairstylist. Those are the best trades. $1,000 can go a long way if you're a smart shopper. In other situations you might have to shop for makeup at a certain store, which might not stock the brand you like and whose exorbitant prices will eat up your trade allowance in no time. And finally, you might be sent to a store which designates certain items for trade... in other words, stuff they can't sell. And chances are if they can't sell it, you don't want it.

So sometimes those perks are great, and other times they're basically worthless.

When checking out a station, you can often find out where the trades are without asking, as many stations run a credit at the end of the newscast. If you see "Clothing provided by Macy's" then you know you'll be getting good stuff. If you see "Hairstyles provided by Joe's house of weed whackers" then you know you might be paying for your own haircut.

As for why stations trade, well, sometimes clients would rather pay with product (or unload stuff) than cash, and many times stations have unsold inventory. Years ago the IRS didn't even count it as income, but the feds got wise to the barter trick.

Now you know how the trade system works. So when a ND offers you perks, you might want to read the fine print, and, in the case of clothing and hair, check out the staff. Are they wearing great clothes and do they have great hairstyles? Or is the wardrobe garage sale material and does the anchor's hair look like it was cut with a machete?

Oh, and by the way, those "gifts" you guys get at the Christmas party? They're pretty much all trade items. Brings the term "re-gifted" to a whole 'nother level.