Jim Hawkins (born 1962[1][2]) is a BBC radio presenter.
Jim Hawkins | |
---|---|
Born | 1962 (age 61–62) Essex, England |
Occupation | Broadcaster |
Employer | BBC Radio Shropshire |
Awards | Sony Silver Award, 2002 |
Hawkins was born in Essex and brought up there and in Warwickshire, England.[3] He now lives in Shropshire.[4]
Hawkins' broadcasting career began on a student radio station at Warwick University.[5] He worked for independent local radio station Mercia Sound from 1981 to 1983.[6] He joined BBC Radio 4 in 1984, writing and presenting the News Stand programme.[7] Hawkins has worked for several commercial and BBC local radio stations across the United Kingdom in various roles on both sides of the microphone,[7][8] including spells as a producer and manager.[8]
Hawkins has also worked for a disability-rights group and as a newspaper journalist, hotel restaurant pianist, and stagehand; at one point he ran the coconut shy on Brighton Pier.[8] During his career he has interviewed notable figures including Gordon Brown, Gene Simmons and Steve Cropper.[3][8]
Hawkins hosts a programme every weekday from 9 am to 12 noon on BBC Radio Shropshire called "Jim Hawkins in the Morning".[9] Hawkins uses Twitter to interact with listeners during the show,[5] having been persuaded to try Twitter after finding his Facebook experience disappointing.[5] Hawkins also hosts a Saturday night programme entitled "Saturday Night with Jim Hawkins" broadcast by BBC Shropshire, BBC Hereford & Worcester, and BBC Radio Stoke. The show was first broadcast on 4 April 2009 and concluded on 5 January 2013.[10] Since the December 2011 issue, on whose front cover he was pictured,[11] he has written a monthly column for Shropshire Life magazine.[12]
In 2002, Hawkins received a silver Sony Radio Academy Award in the "interactive" category, for his drive-time programme The Baldy Brothers on Century FM.[3][7][13] He was also highly commended at the BT sponsored Regional News and Current Affairs Awards.[7] Hawkins was one of five shortlisted for the 2006 Sony Radio Academy Speech Broadcaster of the Year Award.[14]