What is black and white and RED all over?

The Independent, one of the UK’s prominent daily newspapers, declared on Friday that they are joining the RED campaign. On May 16, 2006, the Independent will publish a special edition - with Bono as a guest editor - and donate half of their revenues to the Global Fund. The Independent is the first member of the media to join the campaign, and the first company to mainstream their contributions to the initiative into their routine business practice (other companies have created a new and special RED product, such as the RED American Express card). As my colleague Celina Schocken argued in a related post, the RED campaign to date has been largely a new and innovative mechanism to facilitate contributions from concerned consumers to the Global Fund. In the case of the Independent, however, they will donate half of the proceeds from sales not only to those readers interested in supporting RED, but also from sales to their loyal readership. This true engagement of the private sector is a leap in the right direction for RED and the Global Fund.And Bono? According to one of his staff, "he is tickled to be let loose on such a great paper. He is enjoying using the talents of its journalists to explore issues that are vital to him. He’s looking forward to having a lot of fun on the day and hopes readers will too."Well, Bono, we are just tickled too.