Chris Girdler, who is our editor at The Plymouth Chronicle, has been a journalist for some 50 years. He and his wife Debbie have fostered many children over the years, making a big difference in the lives of young people. Chris and his family love living in Devon and he is passionate about sharing positive news about Plymouth. He has a huge heart for the local community, which believe it or not is reinforced by titanium!
Independent business journalist, Al Gibson spoke to Chris about his long and fruitful career, the challenges he has had to face in life including open heart surgery, his love of football and why he enjoys working at The Chronicle.
Al: You’ve been a journalist all your life, what is it about being a newspaper editor in the South West that motivates you?
Chris Girdler: I think it’s the satisfaction of bringing positivity into people’s lives through print. I love supporting and promoting individuals and organisations that otherwise wouldn’t get the oxygen of publicity, whether it’s a local community group or a major charity, or both. We also enjoy working with the Plymouth City Council and all the other major stakeholders in the city to put our best foot forward. That’s why it gets me out of bed in the morning!
Al: Perhaps that’s why the Plymouth Chronicle is so successful? People say it has ‘a feel good factor’. What about the negative stuff we expect to see in the media?
Chris Girdler: Our content tends to be more reflective, reporting on positive news stories, exciting new developments or upcoming events. We tend to have more of a magazine style rather than the ‘hot off the press’ type stories a daily newspaper carries, alerting people to crimes, accidents, antisocial behaviour etc. We rather report on achievements, people who have raised money for charity, etc, not that we avoid challenges affecting the community. We just try and cover negative stuff in a positive way.
For example, drug busts by Plymouth-based HMS Montrose. Though drug trafficking is a negative we were able to show pictures of tonnes of heroin and cocaine on the deck that had been confiscated. With our large population of armed forces in Plymouth and naval dockyard, we often get stories like this, from our fleet of frigates and submarines who travel all over the world. Such reports really help put Plymouth on the map.
Al: So how did you start out in journalism? And what brought you to the city?
Chris Girdler: I became an editor in my mid-20s working on weekly newspapers in Reading where I was born and brought up. So, I have come full circle from The Reading Chronicle to The Plymouth Chronicle!
In between I had a long period in corporate communications, overseeing publications for Rolls-Royce, Sainsbury’s, Booker, Birds Eye and so on. During this time, I headed up a publishing division with about 20 different titles. However, I also ended up having open heart surgery, which stunted my ability somewhat. Fortunately, in 1987 the four of us who founded the company sold it on the Stock Exchange which meant my wife Debbie and I were able to head west for a better lifestyle.
This led to us setting up our own publishing business, Vision Communications down here in Devon. We lived in Honiton for 10 years, where I edited publications for Westland Helicopters and Booker as well as doing publicity work for a number of local companies. But after meeting up with local media maestro, Chris Cole of Cornerstone House, we decided to merge and create Cornerstone Vision. This is the company that today publishes The Plymouth Chronicle. That was 22 years ago, so we have been in the city for two decades.
On the second day I arrived in Plymouth one of the directors at Sainsbury’s (who I had worked with previously at Booker) rang and asked if we could handle a new publication for them as part of a major overhaul of their supply chain. This seemed to me like a confirmation that we had made the right move. Soon after that, Cornerstone Vision launched The Plymouth Shopper, which, although it had no editorial, was the forerunner of The Chronicle. Distributing the paper to some 92,000 homes is quite a feat and also gives us the opportunity to provide an effective leaflet distribution service, door-to-door across the city.
Chris Girdler – a heart of gold reinforced with titanium
Al: So you have worked with many blue-chip companies. But it sounds like it hasn’t always been easy, especially with a heart condition?
Chris Girdler: Thankfully I had a heart valve replacement nearly 30 years ago. It’s made of titanium and it’s still ticking away nicely! The surgeon who undertook the operation in 1993 said the valve will long outlast me. I’ve worked out it has clicked a billion times since it was fitted. I’m on daily medication to ensure my blood remains thin and avoid clots due to having this lump of metal in my heart, but it’s no hassle really.
Al: That’s remarkable, especially considering the space you have left in your heart for others. I hear in addition to your four biological kids you are a dad to many more? Fostering children is a story in itself…
Chris Girdler: Yeah, it can be challenging at times! We have been fostering since 2009. When we moved into a nine-bedroom house in Stoke, we knew our family was complete, but Debbie saw it filled with children. We’ve fostered about 25 children over the past 13 years for varying intervals so it’s also been a full house!
Fostering can be a bit of a shock to the system, when you realise just how traumatised some children can be. Sometimes they can be challenging because they are so broken but together you get through the tough times and it is a highly rewarding experience that I would recommend to everyone who is in a position to help. We prefer to build long-term relationships with the children to help them achieve their full potential.
Al: So how many children do you have now?
Chris Girdler: At the moment, we’ve got three siblings, two boys aged 9 and 17 and their sister who is 15. They’ve been with us for about three years and are permanently with us until at least 18. We also adopted a four-year-old boy who is now 13. He has been through a lot of trauma which has been very tough for him. And we also have a 21-year-old lodger, who came to us when he was 14. So no longer a foster child, but still living at home.
Al: And your biological children have all flown the nest?
Chris Girdler: Well not quite. Our daughter lives in a flat in our basement! Our eldest son is married, he and his wife have a baby and he is an IT guru in Plymouth. Our younger sons are in Brighton. One is studying music and the other is a graphic designer.
Al: So, a really talented family…
Chris Girdler: Musically at any rate. Not me, I’m tone deaf, but Debbie sings and three of our four children are in bands playing the guitar /keyboards. My eldest son and my daughter are also big Plymouth Argyle Fans.
Al: So, what sparked your interest in football?
Chris Girdler: It started as a boy really. I used to love muddy games! I wasn’t the best, but I liked splashing about in the dirt. My father took me to Reading Football Club each week and my interest grew from there. At one time I was a sports editor covering Football League, but then there was a long period when I only watched on TV. That was until we came to Plymouth and they were developing Home Park. Matthew would have been about 10 and Naomi nine at the time. They said, “Oh Dad, can we go to football?” So, I took them and that was it!
Al: So, you’ve watched the progress of Plymouth Argyle closely over the past two decades?
Chris Girdler: Yes, it’s been a roller coaster, hasn’t it? We got promoted to the Championship but then almost went bankrupt and were relegated twice. But now we have a brilliant chairman who is really revolutionising the club. Plymouth Argyle has sold 2000 more season tickets this year than last so there’s a real feel-good factor right now and a sense of sort of belonging. The ‘Green army’ is definitely on the march!
Al: You have overcome loads of obstacles, as has your team. You’ve also helped children in trauma and want to share positive news about Plymouth. You’re also convinced print journalism has a future. What would you say drives this positivity?
Chris Girdler: I’ve always been a glass-half-full type of person and this has definitely helped me deal with some of the challenges that life inevitably throws at you. We all need to have faith and focus on the good things that are happening around us. I would like to think that telling the good news stories of Plymouth helps inspire the people of our city.
I think effective community publishing is rooted in the phrase, ‘the gift follows the giver’. As we help others, so we are helped. Our MD at Cornerstone Vision, Ian Pilkington calls what we do ‘generous journalism’… That’s a nice description, and it works. I don’t do it for that reason, though. I just see a cause, and I think, “They could do with some help.”
Al Gibson
Al Gibson is a skilled journalist and business writer based in Exeter, UK. With a passion for storytelling, Al excels in interviewing business leaders and crafting compelling articles and blogs. He embraces the 'You Ask, We Answer' approach to blogging, coupled with SEO that ticks all the boxes. Al is also the Director at Countdown Creative Ltd, a content creation company that works internationally for diverse clients providing copywriting and editing services.
