Guardian appoints Katharine Viner as editor-in-chief Friday March 20,2015

 

Katharine Viner has been appointed the editor-in-chief of the Guardian, the first woman to run the newspaper in its 194-year history.

Katharine Viner, deputy editor of the Guardian since 2008, won the overwhelming support of staff in a ballot earlier this month.Fifty-three per cent of those who voted backed Viner, with a first-choice vote of 438 in the single transferrable vote system used for the ballot.

KatharineViner, currently deputy editor of the Guardian and editor-in-chief of Guardian US, will take up the role in the summer from incumbent Alan Rusbridger, who is to stand down after 20 years.

The Scott Trust, the ultimate owner of the Guardian, which safeguards the title’s editorial future and independence, made the announcement on Friday March 20,2015 after members of the board conducted final interviews with two shortlisted candidates. Viner will become only the 12th editor since the paper was founded in May 1821

Katharine Viner becomes the only woman at the top of a daily quality title in the UK. She joins a small group of women editing leading British newspapers: Lisa Markwell, editor of the Independent on Sunday, Victoria Newton, the editor of the Sun on Sunday, Sarah Sands at the Evening Standard, and Dawn Neesom at the Star

 

Commenting on her appointment,Katharin Viner said: “Being editor-in-chief of the Guardian and Observer is an enormous privilege and responsibility, leading a first-class team of journalists revered around the world for outstanding reporting, independent thinking, incisive analysis and digital innovation.”
Saying she was “honoured” to succeed Rusbridger, she said: “Building on his track record, I intend to lead a media organisation that is bold, challenging, open and engaging. It will be a home for the most ambitious journalism, ideas and events, setting the agenda and reaching out to readers all around the world.”