in org-mode, how to demote all headers in a region?

Question

In my org-mode file, I have a bunch of level 1 headings. I want to highlight some of them and demote them by one level to level 2. How do I do this? When I highlight the region and do M-S-right, I get This command is active only in special context like tables, headlines or items.

Answer 1

You want to use M-right rather than M-S-right.

Answer 2

Here, at least, a sort-of workaround solution: use regexp-replace to change "^*" into "". That should do the job, even if not in a pure Org way.