Vivienne Harris (businesswoman)
Vivienne Harris, MBE (née Hytner; born 1921,[1] Prestwich, Lancashire, England, UK[2] — died 4 March 2011) was a British businesswoman, newspaper publisher and journalist who co-founded the Jewish Telegraph in December 1950 with her husband, Frank Harris. The couple married in 1949.[3]
Frank Harris, a freelance journalist, had relocated to Manchester from London.[3] She and her husband co-founded the weekly Jewish Telegraph in the dining room of their home in Salford, Greater Manchester, in 1950.[3] Vivienne Harris oversaw much of the newspaper's expansion from its origins as a four-page, weekly paper[2] during the next sixty years, until 2011.[3] Under Harris, the Jewish Telegraph expanded to four editions in four major British cities – Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and Glasgow.[3] Her husband and newspaper co-founder Frank Harris died in 1979. Their son, Paul, became group editor while Vivienne remained financial director and co-owner.[3]
In June 1997, Harris was the recipient of the MBE for her contributions to journalism and to Greater Manchester.[2] She remained the Jewish Telegraph's financial director until her death in 2011.[2] Harris was active in numerous charitable organizations, including Save the Children, the Citizens Advice Bureau of Salford, the League of Jewish Women, St Ann's Hospice and the Jewish Day Centre.[2]
She addressed attendees at the Jewish Telegraph's 60th anniversary dinner in December 2010.[2] Dignitaries at the event, which was held at the Radisson Blu Hotel at Manchester International Airport, included Bury's Lord Mayor and Mayoress, John and Brenda Byrne.[2]
Death
Vivienne Harris died at her home in Broughton Park on 4 March 2011, aged 89.[3] She remained the active financial director of the newspaper until her death.[3] She was survived by her sons, Paul, the Jewish Telegraph's present owner and group editor[2][3] and Jonathan.[2]