Bono to Edit Newspaper for a Day

May 5th, 2006 10:35 AM

Finally they are making it official. A liberal activist will directly edit a newspaper and decide what stories will and will not run.

Bono, the lead singer for the band U2, will get to edit the Independent, one of Britain's top newspapers. Will Hillary Clinton edit the New York Times if she decides to run for president?

Reports the rival Guardian:

U2 frontman Bono is to guest-edit the May 16 issue of the Independent as part of a media tie-up to raise money for Red, the singer's initiative to tackle Aids in Africa.

The newspaper has also agreed to donate half of its revenues for the issue a week on Tuesday to the Product Red cause.

The Independent is the first media organisation to join the Product Red partnership, which aims to get the backing of the corporate world behind the fight against the disease that it is estimated will kill 2 million Africans this year alone. More than 25 million people on the continent are HIV positive.

So what exactly is Bono going to do for the paper?

Mr Kelner said Bono "will produce a newspaper that, in the best traditions of the Independent, will be challenging, innovative and entertaining".

The singer is already commissioning articles on arts, sport, fashion, health, motoring and politics as well as special features on Africa.

This could start a tradition where liberal activists will not only tell the media what issues to report, they will get to pick the actual stories.