Sac Bee employs "talking newsstand"

As technology goes, the talking newsstand has to be down there with the can opener. But, in a time of trial and darkness, this simple device may give hope to some. It's being employed by the Sacramento Bee. When a reader buys a newspaper, the newsstand launches into a 15-second commercial. Thanks to a company called Innovative Newspaper Marketing Concepts, the Bee's newsstands do more than dispense newspapers. The "scrolling text news rack" also has an LED unit mounted on it that displays a message to consumers as they walk by.