One of U2's best and most popular songs is entitled, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." But finally, the band's lead singer, Bono, has found what he craves: respectability. Now he's also going to be recognized as a pundit.
You know who else has found what it's looking for? The New York Times. The newspaper has announced that it will begin publishing Bono's op-eds at an unspecified time next year.
The Times hungers after readers for its paper and page views for its Web site -- the growth engine of any media empire these years. For better or worse, it has shown it will do practically anything to get some publicity -- don't forget when it memorably enlisted beloved satirist Art Buchwald to broadcast his own obituary on the Web site.
That was an inspired bit of whimsy to help goose traffic on the Internet. This is not. Instead, this smacks of a gimmick -- showcasing a famous person to call attention to the product.
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