About

Short Biography (January 2021)

 
Davy Sims is a multi-award winning media producer specialising in radio and web production.

Starting his career in 1979 at Downtown Radio he became known for supporting new bands including some who would become the best known in punk and new wave. He went on to develop and produce The Bottom Line (now Across the Line) on BBC Radio Ulster and gave early career breaks to many well-known musicians, journalists and broadcasters. He also worked in BBC Radios 1 and Radio 4.

In 1999 Davy was the first producer in BBC NI’s Online service going on to lead New Media until 2008 leading the production team making content for web, mobile, interactive TV and digital communities.

Since leaving the BBC, Davy has been working with community and voluntary organisations including ACOSNI and Intercomm in media training.

He is director of two recent start-ups, Belfast DAB Plus and Enterprise Media Ireland, as well as Argyle Business Centre and David Sims Media. He makes a weekly radio show playing music from around the world carried by 5 radio stations in Northern Ireland.
 

Longer Biography (January 2021)

Davy Sims is broadcaster, podcaster, lecturer, writer and author who lives in Northern Ireland but spend time in Slovenia. I also do some work in Dublin, Ireland. 

He has written books on lake lesort Bled in Slovenia and about podcast production. You can find those books here [Bled, Slovenia] and  here [podcasting]

After decades away from being behind the microphone, I’m presenting a world music show on internet radio station Slice Audio, (more here and playlists and so on here). The show is online from 20h00 to 22h00 GMT on Fridays, repeated at 03h00 Saturdays. The show is also broadcast by Bangor Radio, Lisburn’s 98 and Down Community Radio.

He currently does training with community organisations to produce their own podcasts and doing the occasional episode myself here here and here.

Davy began broadcasting in 1978 as a presenter on Downtown Radio where he was best known for championing young rock bands from Ireland, north and south. I contributed to the early development of the Youth Programmes genre. In 1986 with a move to BBC Radio Ulster where he founded The Bottom Line (now 30+ years on still going as Across The Line). Within three years it was to London for BBC Radios 1 and 4 producing social action programmes and documentaries. As Chief Producer he led Youth Programmes department before returning to Belfast to work in current affairs, religious affairs, magazine and music programmes before becoming the first producer in BBC Northern Ireland Online. From 2001 to 2008 was Editor New Media leading a team producing web, interactive TV, mobile and community outreach.

Since 2008 he has  worked in media and technology. In recent years,  he spent considerable amount of time in Slovenia consulting on digital tourism, social media and emerging platforms. He has taught both Online Analytics and Radio Production in Dublin Business School to BA Journalism students and have been a guest lecturer in University of Ljubljana. Until recently hew worked with the Broadcasting Authority for Ireland on their Sound and Vision scheme.

He won awards for radio and web production in Belfast, London, Dublin and New York.

Between 2011 and 2013  as Head of Social Media in the youth activism project Public Achievement he led the media training project WIMPS (Where is my public servant?) 

He is a non executive director of Argyle Business Centre on Belfast’s Shankill Road and, and of two new startups, Belfast DAB Plus and Enterprise Media Ireland. Until its closure in January 2016, he was a director of Achieve Enterprises, the social enterprise arm of Public Achievement.

If you find all that desperately interesting there’s more on LinkedIn.com/in/davysims

Davy can be contacted through this webform.