Bono Adds New York Times Columnist to Job Titles

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On Friday, the New York Times announced that U2 lead singer, Bono, would be the Old Grey Lady’s newest Op-ed columnist. In the announcement, the Times revealed that Bono’s first article would run in the Sunday, January 11 edition, then continuing afterward on an irregular basis. Bono’s inaugural column will also include a podcast delivered by the singer since he, in his own words, “has never been great with the full stops or commas.” Speaking about the choice of writer, Andrew Rosenthal, the editorial page editor, called Bono “an extraordinary man who thinks deeply about his art and the major issues confronting the world.”

After the surprise announcement, members of the press immediately began to speculate about the topic of Bono’s first article. The Times‘ announcement only noted that Bono would be writing on “a broad range of topics.” An outspoken advocate of debt relief and AIDS in Africa, the topic of Bono’s first article was somewhat of a surprise. Instead, the article that appeared yesterday in print was a salute to Frank Sinatra during these uncertain economic times. Titled, “Notes From the Chairman” as an ode to Sinatra’s nickname, Chairman of the Board, Bono wrote how Sinatra’s two versions of the song “My Way,” recorded in 1969 and 1994, resonate as a “foghorn” during this new year of 2009. On a related side note, the newspaper failed to announce the release date of Bono’s next column.