Pontifications

Can Bono save The New York Times?

Friday October 24, 2008

Bono and the Pope.jpgThe rock star and humanitarian has been asked to write occasional Op-Eds for the Gray Lady, according to today's NYT. Catherine J. Mathis, a spokeswoman for The New York Times Company, said, "We have asked Bono to write an occasional column for the paper next year, covering a range of subjects, but are still finalizing the details."

Will that be enough? Bono (a hero, along with JP2, who was also a fan of U2's front man--and his wraparound shades) can save Africa, but newspapers may be a tougher cause. Also in today's Times, a report that the company's earnings are down 51 percent. Yikes. This is bad for the Times, but a symptom of the meltdown in a reading culture as well as the transition from "old media" to online media. I straddle both, but am a dinosaur, I guess, in that there's nothing like getting the paper every morning with a cup of coffee.

Heck, Bono beats William Kristol...

Advertisement
Comments
Charles Cosimano
October 24, 2008 1:29 PM

Will someone please hit Bono in the face with a whipped cream pie?

Sharon McEachern
October 26, 2008 11:23 PM

I don't know if Bono as a columnist will help shore-up the Times bottom line, but at least he'll being writing for no pay, according to MTV. The Times editorial-page editor Andrew Rosenthal told students at Columbia University's Journalism School that he was considering whether to ask Queen guitarist Brian May to also write some pieces for the paper. The report siad that May has a doctorate in astrophysics. Whoa!

You know, of course, the Times isn't the only newspaper in trouble. Analysts believe even sharper drops in advertising revenues will occur during the usually lucrative holiday season. What I think is amazing is what Anick Jesdanun wrote in the Business Week piece, "Newspaper companies face pressure from all sides."

"To save the holidays, newspaper companies are counting on advertisers simply placing their ads at the last minute, once they have a better handle on consumer confidence," wrote Jesdanun.

How do YOU say "denial?" How can they possibly count on last minute expenditures to save their fourth-quarter bottom line? Who else can they get to write free columns?

Sharon McEachern
www.ethicsoup.com

Daniel
October 27, 2008 2:14 PM

Gosh, instead of Bono, maybe the NYT could attempt a return to hiring journalists who investigate and write a story based on facts. It works better than hiring writers who decide on the story and then work up the facts to meet the case.

Post a Comment

By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.



Please type the text you see in the box below to verify your post and help us prevent spam. You have a limited time to type - you may wish to compose your comment in a separate document and paste it here upon completion.

Type the characters you see in the picture above.

Advertisement

About Pontifications

This blog is no longer updated and is closed for comments. We welcome your comments about Catholicism in our Catholic forums.

David Gibson is an award-winning religion writer who specializes in writing about the Catholic Church, which he joined as a convert at the age of 30. He is the author The Rule of Benedict: Pope Benedict XVI and His Battle with the Modern World. He also wrote The Coming Catholic Church: How the Faithful are Shaping a New American Catholicism. He has written about Catholicism for leading newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, New York magazine, Boston magazine, Fortune, Commonweal, and America. Gibson worked in Rome for Vatican Radio for several years and traveled frequently with Pope John Paul II. He later covered religion for The Star-Ledger of New Jersey. He has co-written several recent documentaries on Christianity for CNN. For further information check out his website at dgibson.com.

Search This Blog

David's Books:

book_rule.jpg

buybook.gif
  book_coming.jpg

buybook.gif

Advertisement

Advertisement


About Beliefnet

Our mission is to help people like you find, and walk, a spiritual path that will bring comfort, hope, clarity, strength, and happiness. More about Beliefnet.

Legal

Copyright © Beliefnet, Inc. and/or its licensors. All rights reserved. Use of this site is subject to Terms of Service and to our Privacy Policy. Constructed by Beliefnet.

Advertisement

Report as Inappropriate

You are reporting this content because it violates the Terms of Service.

All reported content is logged for investigation.