James Coomarasamy is a British presenter of the BBC Radio 4 evening programme The World Tonight and the flagship Newshour programme on the BBC World Service.
James Coomarasamy | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) | |
| Born | London, England |
| Education | University of Cambridge |
| Employer | BBC |
| Known for | News broadcaster |
| Partner | Nanette van der Laan[1] |
Before joining Newshour in 2010, Coomarasamy spent a year presenting the now defunct programme Europe Today. Before becoming a presenter (announcer) he had been a BBC correspondent in Warsaw, followed by Paris, then Washington, D.C.
Early life edit
Coomarasamy was born in London to parents of English and Sri Lankan ancestry.[citation needed] He was privately educated at Christ's Hospital School, an independent school for boys (now co-educational), near Horsham, West Sussex, followed by the University of Cambridge, where he studied modern and medieval languages. He is fluent in French and Russian, and he speaks some Polish.[2]
Career edit
Coomarasamy has worked primarily for the BBC:[3]
- 1991. Production assistant in the BBC Moscow bureau, after which he freelanced in Moscow as a reporter-producer
- Producer for the BBC World in London
- December 1994. Returned to Moscow as the bureau's bi-media producer, covering major stories such as the war in Chechnya
- November 1997. In Warsaw as the BBC correspondent covering events in Poland, the Baltics and Ukraine
- From 1999 to 2003. The BBC's Paris reporter, covering for both radio and television
- From February 2005. Correspondent in Washington, D.C., for North America
- 2009. Presented Europe Today for the BBC World Service
- 2010. Joined the presentation team for Newshour on the BBC World Service
Personal life edit
Coomarasamy is married to Nanette van der Laan. They have two children: Maya and Finn.[4]
References edit
- ^ "James Coomarasamy". Twitter. 14 February 2015.
- ^ "Profile". BBC World Service.
- ^ "Profile". BBC TV news. Archived from the original on 28 October 2006.
- ^ Coomarasamy, James (27 April 2003). "Au revoir, Parisian parenthood". BBC News.
External links edit
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