[9][10] As a teenager, she joined the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and the Anti-Apartheid Movement, the nearest groups were 25 miles away, and read Spare Rib.
[2] Her first newspaper article, published in The Guardian in 1987 while she was still in school, was on the ending of the GCE O-level examinations, which were being replaced in the UK by the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE).
[14] During her 20s, Viner spent most of her holidays in the Middle East, a region in which she has a particular interest, spending time in Lebanon, Syria, Israel, West Bank and other locations.
[11] Laura Slattery in The Irish Times, reviewing Viner's career up to March 2015, noted that she "has almost always been the person who does the commissioning, [rather than] provided the byline".
[22][23] D. D. Guttenplan, London correspondent of the American Nation magazine, wrote in March 2015 that "there is no one on either side of the Atlantic Ocean who has thought as deeply as Viner about the relationship between readers, technology and the future of journalism.
[21][25] While based in New York, Viner expanded Guardian US's coverage from a limited range of subjects, into areas such as the arts and sport; she also increased US staffing.
[4][30] She announced her intention to make the "media organisation" a "home for the most ambitious journalism, ideas and events" which is able to reach "out to readers all around the world.
[32] Peter Wilby, writing in the New Statesman, preferred a different explanation: "Viner is a more charming, more inclusive and less threatening figure than Janine Gibson, who started as the bookies’ and Rusbridger's favourite.
The following month, The Times reported internal tensions within the organisation as Rusbridger prepared to become Chairman of the Scott Trust, the ultimate overseer to ensure The Guardian survives "in perpetuity".
[36] In May 2021 The Daily Telegraph reported that there was serious conflict between Viner and chief executive of The Guardian Media Group Annette Thomas about finances and the direction the newspaper should take.
Thomas had earlier said at a media industry conference "we have quality content in spades ... the job at hand is to now go further by strengthening the growing elements of our business".
[45] After Rickman died of cancer in January 2016, Viner wrote that their collaboration had been initially difficult, but "on the opening night we each admitted that we couldn’t have done justice to Rachel’s words without the other".