Bono and Bob Geldof to Guest-Edit The Globe and Mail

Monday May 10th Edition of The Globe and Mail to Focus on Emerging Africa

TORONTO, May 4 /CNW/ - In a first for the newspaper, The Globe and Mail will be edited on May 10 by two guest editors - anti-poverty activists Bono and Bob Geldof - who will produce a special issue focused on the future of Africa and its importance not just for the more than 1 billion people living on that continent, but for Canadians and the rest of the West as well.

The Globe is partnering with Bono, Geldof, and their organization ONE (www.one.org) to explore these issues in advance of Canada hosting two critically important summits of world leaders in June - the G8 and the G20. The crisis of extreme poverty in developing countries, particularly in Africa, will be a focus of the G8, while the G20 will centre on financial and economic reform. This will be the first time The Globe has invited guest-editors into the news room, and the first time Bono and Geldof have guest-edited a North American newspaper.

The online and new media component of this project will be critical, and extend into early June as part of The Globe's G8 and G20 coverage. To oversee this part of the project, the celebrated Kenyan activist and blogger Ory Okolloh will join the team as guest-editor of globeandmail.com on May 10. Okolloh will oversee stories from and about Africa and participate in a series of online discussions.

"As the only Canadian newspaper with an African bureau, The Globe has dedicated resources and reporters to deliver in-depth and ground-breaking news as it relates to Africa, its people and the issues that matter most," said Phillip Crawley, Publisher, The Globe and Mail. "Bono and Geldof have valuable insights and knowledge on the future of Africa, and The Globe is delighted to collaborate with them to bring a new perspective to Canada."

The Globe's Africa correspondent Geoffrey York, who regularly reports on evolving issues and news from the continent, is exploring two bellwether stories, specifically for the May 10 edition.

The special edition will feature content and commentary from African political leaders, business owners and grassroots activists; it will also include contributions from other well-known international political leaders and advocates.

"I'm a huge fan of great journalism - I can't wait to show up for work at The Globe. Our aim in this special edition is to crack down on a few stereotypes and showcase the opportunities surrounding the African continent, not just the problems," said Bono.

"The world will be coming to and looking at Canada this June. The older and the emerging economies will be once again be struggling to learn the new 21st century dance of cooperation and possibly even compromise, and this time under Canada's leadership. The Globe and Mail, one of the world's great papers of record, has, in a mad rush of blood to the head, agreed to let two Irish pop-singers edit their august journal for one special day, one special edition. It will be dedicated to that huge, emerging resource continent of Africa and the global necessity of coming to terms with its opportunities and obstacles. I've gone from being an old editor of the Vancouver Georgia Straight to the new editor of the The Globe and Mail and it's only taken 36 years! Now that's a career trajectory," said Bob Geldof.

The Globe and Mail is inviting readers to send in their video questions for Bono and Geldof. Video questions should be sent via www.globeandmail.com/africaone by May 6th. Select questions will be chosen, and the guest-editors will answer these questions from The Globe and Mail and shared online at globeandmail.com during the month of May.

"It will be a pleasure to hand over the editor's chair to people who have given decades of their lives to the cause of bringing world attention to Africa, a place that is now a very different, and more aspiring, continent than we've ever known it to be," added John Stackhouse, Editor-in-Chief, The Globe and Mail. "I know Bono and Geldof will bring startling and stimulating conversations to the newspaper, and Ory to our website. It's an honour to share the newsroom with such an esteemed team, and I'm delighted to extend this experience to our readers."

Bono is the lead singer of Irish rock band U2 and the co-founder of ONE (www.one.org), an advocacy organization backed by more than 2 million people around the world who are dedicated to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. As part of his work with ONE, Bono has lobbied U.S. Presidents and Congressional leaders, along with the heads of many other G8 nations. He was a leader in the global campaign that has cancelled nearly $100 billion of debt for African countries. Bono is also cofounder of (RED), an initiative that has to date delivered $150 million in corporate funds to fight AIDS in Africa through the Global Fund. Bono has received a number of awards for his music and activism, including the Legion D'Honneur from the French Government in 2003, TIME Magazine's Person of the Year for 2005 (along with Bill and Melinda Gates), and an honorary British knighthood in 2007.

Sir Bob Geldof is a musician, businessman and activist. His involvement with Africa started in 1984 with founding Band Aid and then putting on the Live Aid concert in 1985 which raised $150 million. He organized Live8 - ten concerts on July 2nd 2005 with an estimated global audience of 3 billion, timed to put pressure on the G8 leaders who then made many significant poverty alleviation pledges. He works continuously to compel the politicians to keep these promises. He is currently a member of the Africa Progress Panel and works closely with ONE, effectively lobbying world leaders - directly and through the media and campaigning. He has written and recorded 12 albums with The Boomtown Rats and as a solo artist and has received many music awards. He is currently founder and director of Ten Alps, the UK's largest independent factual television production company.

Ory Okolloh is a Kenyan activist, lawyer and blogger. When parts of Kenya were swept up in violence after the disputed presidential election in 2007 she created a website called Ushahidi (Swahili: "testimony) where people could record and report incidences of violence. She runs her own blog, The Kenyan Pundit www.kenyanpundit.com, and is a frequent speaker at conferences including TED Global and Poptech on issues around citizen journalism, the role of technology in Africa, and the role of young people in reshaping the future of Africa. She has also She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh and her law degree from Harvard Law School.

The Globe and Mail, Canada's national newspaper, is a division of CTVglobemedia, a dynamic multi-media company, which also owns CTV Inc., Canada's number-one private broadcaster.

For further information: Jill Anzarut, [phone], [email protected]