News Rack Enhancement Program Presented to Cities Across the Country

1. News Rack Enhancement Program Presented to Cities Across the Country Presented byRichard Kitzmann, President Rak Systems, Inc.

2. Rak Systems, Inc. A professional products and services company that has achieved great success in the newspaper industry since it’s founding in 1987. We consistently strive for excellence in the service of existing and new clients. Major corporations across the country turn to Rak Systems, Inc. for solution-based answers to complicated questions.

3. News Rack Enhancement Program Objective: Develop flexible solutions to aid the news rack enhancement efforts of printed publications and city officials across the country. Rak Systems, Inc. has developed a process for updating and enhancing the appearance of newspaper fixtures within the central business districts of various markets across the country. Our experience in these matters suggests that systematic processes containing a high level of communication and multiple options can be extremely productive. Productivity is measured in terms of quickly reaching agreement on direction and ultimately the final solution.

4. Process Options Communication Assistance or Equipment Provision or Equipment Installation or Equipment Maintenance or All of the Above

5. Communication Assistance Identify Perspectives of market publications • Current news rack status • Publishers’ relationships with the city • Relationship among publications • Identification of publications’ and cities’ concerns • Offer solutions Identify City’s Perspective • Current and proposed ordinances • Desired changes • Timeframe for changes • Equipment options • Liability issues • Offer solutions Identify Other Issues/Questions • Who bears cost of new equipment? • Communication among all stakeholders • Identification of current equipment and product types • Determine stakeholder participation-interest

6. Communication Assistance Step one would be to meet with stakeholders to establish trust and develop a working list of issues. Going forward the goal would be to streamline the process and provide flexibility.

7. Equipment Overview Equipment Selection • Identify necessary equipment • High-quality construction • Assortment of color options • Competitive pricing Equipment Installation • Install units according to ordinance/agreement specifications • Communicate installation status to all publications and the city • Solicit acceptance/feedback from all parties

8. Program Maintenance Define Maintenance Options • Turn-key service (covers items below plus repairs) • Inspection and cleaning of equipment including graffiti removal • Inspection-only service to report graffiti and general cleanliness

9. To follow are photos which depict the “in-process” and “before and after” scenarios utilizing equipment that is currently available and in use by selected publications across the country. Enhancement Preview

10. Enhancement In Process

11. Before and After

12. Before and After

13. After Enhancement

14. Alternative Equipment To follow are equipment options that may be desirable in the overall plan to beautify the CBD of your city. Included are innovative newspaper fixtures and collateral accessories such as park benches, planters and refuse containers. The collateral accessories are currently available. The newspaper fixtures, however, require a minimum investment of $100,000 to create the necessary tooling to manufacture these new products for your project. When viewing the park benches please draw your attention to the added feature of available advertising space.

15. Alternative Equipment

16. Alternative Equipment

17. Alternative Equipment