By Ben Sutherland BBC, Vancouver

Celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and George Clooney have become integral to getting stories about global problems on air, a leading anchor for the international news network CNN has told the World Urban Forum in Vancouver, Canada.

Globa issues are far too complex to fit into 30 second newsbites

Zain Verjee, who co-anchors CNN's international rolling news, said that news editors worldwide - particularly those in news organisations which rely on advertising - are ever more likely to broadcast something with a celebrity angle.

"In terms of having the media using celebrities to focus on getting the rating - unfortunately it's a business," she said.

"Having Angelina Jolie talk about refugees puts more eyeballs on TV."

"Me-go"

Angelina Jolie recorded a message for World Refugee Day earlier this month.

The actress, currently in the spotlight after giving birth to a daughter with actor Brad Pitt, is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Refugee Agency.

The message was shown by a large number of television stations, with one Spanish network broadcasting it twice an hour.

Ms Verjee said that celebrities were now an integral part of the way that important stories are told.

She explained that she herself had only been able to get pieces about the troubled situation in Darfur on air when actors Mia Farrow and George Clooney visited the region.

"It isn't great, no - I think it's awful, frankly - but it does help to raise awareness," she added.

These issues are far too complex to fit into 30 seconds Charles Kelly, UN Urban Forum

The media has come under intense criticism at the World Urban Forum, with many speakers expressing anger or disappointment that what they see as hugely important problems facing the planet are not getting enough exposure.

There was a big ovation for a speaker from the floor who said that "instead of interviewing celebrities, I would like to see your cameras going into the villages of Africa and focusing attention on them".

But Ms Verjee described this as "me-go" - people earnestly wanting to get an issue they care deeply about in the news without thinking about how to present it in an interesting way.

When this happens, "my eyes just glaze over," she said.

Complex issues

However, Charles Kelly, the Commissioner General of the Forum, told the BBC that he felt there was little interest in getting an in-depth understanding of some of the vastly difficult problems that urbanisation presents.

"The media is looking for what they can fit into 30 seconds," he said.

"But these issues are far too complex to fit into 30 seconds."