Background
Brooke, James Bettner was born on February 21, 1955 in New York City. Son of John Louis Barde and Louisa (Ludlow) Brooke.
Brooke, James Bettner was born on February 21, 1955 in New York City. Son of John Louis Barde and Louisa (Ludlow) Brooke.
Bachelor in Latin American Studies, Yale University, 1977.
Foreign VOA, he writes Russia Watch, a weekly blog. Previously, he worked as Moscow Bureau Chief for Bloomberg. Before Bloomberg, he reported for 24 years for The New York Times, largely overseas.
Among the posts Brooke has held at the Times:
assistant to James Reston, Washington columnist, 1978-1980
metropolitan reporter, 1984-1986
bureau chief, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, December 1986-January 1989
bureau chief, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, February 1989-July 1995
Rocky Mountain bureau chief, Denver, Colorado, August 1995 – 1999
bureau chief, Canada, August 1999- 2001
East Asia correspondent (Japan, South of Korea, North of Korea) based in Tokyo, August 2001-June 2006
Brooke graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American Studies and was a stringer for United Press International as a student.
In 1976, he spent a semester at Pontificia Universidade Catolica in Rio de Janeiro. After graduation, Brooke was a freelance reporter and part-time staffer at The Berkshire Eagle in Massachusetts from June 1977 to April 1978.
Prior to joining the Times as a reporter in 1984, he was the South American correspondent for The Miami Herald. Brooke is a son of the late Mr. and Mistress
John L. B. Brooke of Lenox, Massachusetts
Brooke was married to Elizabeth Ann Heilman.
They have three sons - James, William and Alexander.
Married Elizabeth Heilman Brooke, September 7, 1985. Children: James, Alexander, William.