Career[edit]

She was born Vivienne Hytner in Prestwich, Lancashire, England. Frank Harris, a freelance journalist, had relocated to Manchester from London.^[2] She and her husband co-founded the weekly Jewish Telegraph in their dining room in Salford, Greater Manchester, in 1950.^[2] Vivienne Harris oversaw much of the newspaper's expansion from its origins as a four-page weekly paper^[3] during the next sixty years, until 2011.^[2] Under Harris, the Jewish Telegraph expanded to local editions in Leeds, Liverpool and Glasgow, as well as Manchester.^[2] 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 until her death.^[2]


In June 1997, Harris was the recipient of the MBE for her contributions to journalism and to Greater Manchester.^[3] 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.^[3]


She addressed attendees at the Jewish Telegraph's 60th anniversary dinner in December 2010.^[3] 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.^[3]