Bono, New York Times columnist

Can the U2 lead singer save, or at least spice up, the Times?

The New York Times has found an unusual new contributor for its Op-Ed page, said Ben Chapman in Radar online. U2 front-man Bono will submit—without pay—up to 10 columns next year, writing about "Africa, poverty, and, importantly, the music of Frank Sinatra.” Op-Ed editor Andrew Rosenthal didn’t say if Bono, or someone else, was replacing conservative columnist Bill Kristol, whose contract ends in January. But he did drop hints about writers he might like better.

The Times definitely seems to prefer pop stars to conservatives, said Sean Michaels in Britain’s The Guardian. Rosenthal is no fan of op-eds by Condoleezza Rice, but he likes opinion columns Bruce Springsteen has written. And the Times has expressed interest in bringing back Queen guitarist Brian May—who is also an astrophysicist and has written about space.

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