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Revealed: Bono Most in Tune With AlertNet Readers
LONDON (AlertNet) - Angelina Jolie may be blessed with beauty and Kofi Annan exudes gravitas, but when it comes to celebrity humanitarians, AlertNet readers most identify with Bono.
The Irish rock legend known for haranguing U.S. presidents and making the African-debt debate sexy got the popular vote in an unashamedly unscientific survey designed to discover readers’ “inner celebrity humanitarians".
Almost 60 percent of respondents who answered a series of hypothetical questions on humanitarian issues found themselves matched with Bono -- compared with 22.5 percent for U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, 7 percent for do-gooder actress Angelina Jolie and just 3 percent for philanthropist Bill Gates.
An irreverent 8.5 percent got matched with Homer Simpson, the beer-and-donut-scoffing Everyman who just doesn’t give a “doh" about global suffering.
The results suggest Bono’s brand of rock-arena advocacy may strike a chord with members of AlertNet’s predominantly 20- and 30-something Western audience, many of whom work in emergency relief or development.
Asked to choose a humanitarian emergency closest to their hearts, most respondents opted for one of Bono’s two pet causes, African debt (26.2 percent) or the HIV/AIDS pandemic sweeping sub-Saharan Africa (23.5 percent). That AIDS is also a major concern of Bill Gates didn’t translate into many matches for the Microsoft founder.
Asked how they would respond if they saw a TV documentary about a new humanitarian crisis brewing in Africa, 23.3 percent said they would write a letter to the government urging immediate intervention to save lives – the sort of lobbying Bono would undoubtedly approve of.
That was marginally less than the number who would get out their cheque books and make donations to relevant charities (cue Gates). Far fewer would organise a fundraising jumble sale (Annan) or try to sponsor an orphan from the crisis-hit country (Jolie).
Revealingly, 33 percent said they’d groan “Oh no, not Africa again" and immediately change the channel, á la Homer Simpson.
Whatever the light-hearted AlertNet quiz reveals about readers’ humanitarian instincts – and its authors confess not much - it says a lot about their musical tastes. Asked which artist or group most deserved to be on stage at last year’s global Live 8 concert, a whopping 64 percent chose Bono’s band U2.
Here’s what the quiz says about the demographics of AlertNet’s readership, based on just over 500 responses:
WHO THEY ARE Government development officials 3 percent
Students 18 percent
Teachers/academics 4 percent
In relief work or development 40 percent
In the media 6 percent
None of the above 27 percent
Don’t say 2 percent
HOW OLD? Under 18 4 percent
18-24 20 percent
25-34 45 percent
35-44 19 percent
45-54 7 percent
55 or older 3 percent
Don’t say 2 percent
WHERE ARE THEY? Africa 7 percent
Asia 7 percent
Australasia 7 percent
Europe 28 percent
Latin America 2 percent
Middle East 2 percent
North America 46 percent
Don’t say 2 percent
FAVOURITE LIVE 8 ACT Madonna 7.7 percent
Sting 9.5 percent
Paul McCartney 11.5 percent
U2 64 percent
Sugababes 7.3 percent
What is AlertNet?
Reuters AlertNet is a humanitarian news network based around a popular website. It aims to keep relief professionals and the wider public up-to-date on humanitarian crises around the globe.
AlertNet attracts upwards of three million users a year, has a network of more than three hundred contributing humanitarian organizations and its weekly email digest is received by more than 10,000 readers.
It was started in 1997 by Reuters Foundation - an educational and humanitarian trust -- to place Reuters' core skills of speed, accuracy and freedom from bias at the service of the humanitarian community.
AlertNet has won a Popular Communication award for technological innovation, a NetMedia European Online Journalism Award for its coverage of natural disasters and has been named a Millennium Product by the British Government -- an award for outstanding applications of innovative technologies.
LONDON (AlertNet) - Angelina Jolie may be blessed with beauty and Kofi Annan exudes gravitas, but when it comes to celebrity humanitarians, AlertNet readers most identify with Bono.
The Irish rock legend known for haranguing U.S. presidents and making the African-debt debate sexy got the popular vote in an unashamedly unscientific survey designed to discover readers’ “inner celebrity humanitarians".
Almost 60 percent of respondents who answered a series of hypothetical questions on humanitarian issues found themselves matched with Bono -- compared with 22.5 percent for U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, 7 percent for do-gooder actress Angelina Jolie and just 3 percent for philanthropist Bill Gates.
An irreverent 8.5 percent got matched with Homer Simpson, the beer-and-donut-scoffing Everyman who just doesn’t give a “doh" about global suffering.
The results suggest Bono’s brand of rock-arena advocacy may strike a chord with members of AlertNet’s predominantly 20- and 30-something Western audience, many of whom work in emergency relief or development.
Asked to choose a humanitarian emergency closest to their hearts, most respondents opted for one of Bono’s two pet causes, African debt (26.2 percent) or the HIV/AIDS pandemic sweeping sub-Saharan Africa (23.5 percent). That AIDS is also a major concern of Bill Gates didn’t translate into many matches for the Microsoft founder.
Asked how they would respond if they saw a TV documentary about a new humanitarian crisis brewing in Africa, 23.3 percent said they would write a letter to the government urging immediate intervention to save lives – the sort of lobbying Bono would undoubtedly approve of.
That was marginally less than the number who would get out their cheque books and make donations to relevant charities (cue Gates). Far fewer would organise a fundraising jumble sale (Annan) or try to sponsor an orphan from the crisis-hit country (Jolie).
Revealingly, 33 percent said they’d groan “Oh no, not Africa again" and immediately change the channel, á la Homer Simpson.
Whatever the light-hearted AlertNet quiz reveals about readers’ humanitarian instincts – and its authors confess not much - it says a lot about their musical tastes. Asked which artist or group most deserved to be on stage at last year’s global Live 8 concert, a whopping 64 percent chose Bono’s band U2.
Here’s what the quiz says about the demographics of AlertNet’s readership, based on just over 500 responses:
WHO THEY ARE Government development officials 3 percent
Students 18 percent
Teachers/academics 4 percent
In relief work or development 40 percent
In the media 6 percent
None of the above 27 percent
Don’t say 2 percent
HOW OLD? Under 18 4 percent
18-24 20 percent
25-34 45 percent
35-44 19 percent
45-54 7 percent
55 or older 3 percent
Don’t say 2 percent
WHERE ARE THEY? Africa 7 percent
Asia 7 percent
Australasia 7 percent
Europe 28 percent
Latin America 2 percent
Middle East 2 percent
North America 46 percent
Don’t say 2 percent
FAVOURITE LIVE 8 ACT Madonna 7.7 percent
Sting 9.5 percent
Paul McCartney 11.5 percent
U2 64 percent
Sugababes 7.3 percent
What is AlertNet?
Reuters AlertNet is a humanitarian news network based around a popular website. It aims to keep relief professionals and the wider public up-to-date on humanitarian crises around the globe.
AlertNet attracts upwards of three million users a year, has a network of more than three hundred contributing humanitarian organizations and its weekly email digest is received by more than 10,000 readers.
It was started in 1997 by Reuters Foundation - an educational and humanitarian trust -- to place Reuters' core skills of speed, accuracy and freedom from bias at the service of the humanitarian community.
AlertNet has won a Popular Communication award for technological innovation, a NetMedia European Online Journalism Award for its coverage of natural disasters and has been named a Millennium Product by the British Government -- an award for outstanding applications of innovative technologies.
for Homer Simpson!
