
Ways to Change the World with Krishnan Guru-Murthy Guardian editor Katharine Viner: “Facts are essential, but they’re not enough”
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Feb 27, 2026 Katharine Viner, Editor-in-chief of The Guardian who led its digital transformation and global expansion, discusses defending liberal values in a polarised age. She talks about mixing facts with ideas to inspire hope. She explains editorial independence, navigating internal debates, the move to multimedia storytelling, and the role of AI as a tool for journalism.
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Always Offer Solutions With Critique
- When critiquing problems, offer at least one practical alternative to avoid leaving readers in despair.
- Viner insists opinion pieces include a paragraph suggesting how things could be done differently to provide routes out of pessimism.
Diversify Content To Reduce News Fatigue
- To combat news avoidance and scrolling fatigue, diversify content with nourishing non-news sections and more engaging formats.
- Viner stresses sport, culture and wellbeing plus collaboration across outlets to make news less depressing and more engaging.
How A Competition Opened The Guardian Door
- Viner entered journalism after winning a Guardian competition to edit the women's page for a week, which propelled her into newsrooms.
- She later joined The Guardian at 26 and kept returning until she built her career there.

