Paul Chantler (12 October 1959 – 31 March 2024) was a British radio broadcaster, author, and broadcasting executive who held senior programming roles at Chiltern Radio, Essex Radio, and

Wireless Group News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or telev ...

and worked for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Career

In 1971, Chantler began his career working on Hospital Radio in

Royal Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sand ...

. While serving as Program Director for Chiltern Radio, Chantler launched the

Galaxy A galaxy is a Physical system, system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar medium, interstellar gas, cosmic dust, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek ' (), literally 'milky', ...

radio station, and he would later serve as the Group Programme Director for Essex Radio and the

. When

BBC Radio Wiltshire BBC Radio Wiltshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the English county of Wiltshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at Prospect Place in Swindon. According to RAJAR, the station had a weekly au ...

launched in April 1989 under the name BBC Wiltshire Sound, Chantler was its first presenter. The first song played on the station by Chantler was "

We've Only Just Begun "We've Only Just Begun" is a single by the Carpenters, written by Roger Nichols (music) and Paul Williams (lyrics). It was ranked at No. 414 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time." It also became Carpenter ...

" by the

Carpenters Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters trad ...

. Chantler later served as a consultant for other radio stations in the United Kingdom, such as

Premier Christian Radio Premier Christian Radio is a British Christian radio station, part of Premier (a Christian communications organisation), owned by the charity Premier Christian Media Trust. Premier Christian Radio broadcasts Christian programming, including ne ...

, Invicta, and Southern Sound. Towards the end of his career he was a director of Fix Radio and Podcast Radio. In 2022, radio broadcaster Paul Hollins and Chantler co-wrote ''Essential Media Law'', a guide to libel and defamation. Following its popularity among content creators, the book was updated with a second edition in 2024. In 2019 Chantler was named a fellow of the

Radio Academy The Radio Academy is a registered charity dedicated to "the encouragement, recognition and promotion of excellence in UK broadcasting and audio production". It was formed in 1983 and is run via a board of trustees, with a chair and a deputy chai ...

for his “outstanding contribution to both public and commercial radio as a journalist, presenter and programmer”.

Death

Chantler died on 31 March 2024, aged 64, in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

. Recently diagnosed with liver cancer, Chantler had been admitted to the hospital reporting breathing difficulties.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chantler, Paul English radio DJs British radio executives 1959 births 2024 deaths 21st-century British male writers