Journalist, author, academic, and business executive (born 1958)
Steve Coll (born October 8, 1958) is an
American
journalist , academic, and executive.
He was dean of the
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism , where he also served as the
Henry R. Luce Professor of Journalism until 2022. A staff writer for
The New Yorker , he served as the president and CEO of the
New America think tank from 2007 to 2012.
He is the recipient of two
Pulitzer Prize awards, two
Overseas Press Club Awards, a
PEN American Center
John Kenneth Galbraith Award , an
Arthur Ross Book Award , a
Livingston Award , a
Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award , a
Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award , and the
Lionel Gelber Prize . From 2012 to 2013, he was a voting member of the Pulitzer Prize Board before continuing to serve in an
ex officio capacity as the dean of the Columbia Journalism School.
Early life and family
Steve Coll was born on October 8, 1958, in
Washington, D.C. He attended
Thomas S. Wootton High School in
Rockville , Maryland, graduating in 1976. Following high school, he moved to
Los Angeles ,
California , and enrolled in
Occidental College , where he was a member of
Phi Beta Kappa . In 1980, he graduated
cum laude with majors in English and history. Coll also attended the
University of Sussex during his studies.
[1]
[2]
Coll is married to the journalist and poet
Eliza Griswold .
[3]
Career
Journalism
Coll (right) with
Richard N. Haass , President of the
Council on Foreign Relations
After college, Coll wrote for the Pasadena Weekly . He then wrote general-interest articles for
California magazine.
[4]
In 1985, he started working for
The Washington Post as a general assignment feature writer for the paper's Style section. Two years later, he was promoted to serve as the financial correspondent for the newspaper, based in
New York City . He and
David A. Vise collaborated on a series of reports scrutinizing the
Securities and Exchange Commission for which they received the 1990
Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting and the
Gerald Loeb Award for Large Newspapers.
[5]
[6]
[7] In 1989, he moved to
New Delhi , when he was appointed as the Post' s South Asia bureau chief. He served as a foreign correspondent through 1995.
[8]
Coll began working for the newspaper's Sunday magazine insert in 1995, serving as publisher of the magazine from 1996 to 1998. He was promoted to managing editor of the newspaper in 1998 and served in that capacity through 2004. He has also served as an associate editor for the newspaper from late 2004 to August 2005.
In September 2005, Coll joined the writing staff of
The New Yorker . Based in Washington, D.C., he reported on foreign intelligence and national security.
[9]
New America Foundation
On July 23, 2007, Coll was named as the next director of the
New America Foundation , a non-profit, non-partisan
think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C.
[10]
[11] He has also contributed to the
New York Review of Books , particularly about the war in Afghanistan. On June 25, 2012, Coll announced his resignation as President of the New America Foundation to pen a follow-up to Ghost Wars .
[12]
On October 23, 2012, Coll was elected to the
Pulitzer Prize Board, administered by
Columbia University .
[13]
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
On March 18, 2013, it was announced that Coll would succeed
Nick Lemann as the dean of the
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism , effective July 1, 2013.
[2]
[14]
Publications
Coll's The Achilles Trap was published in 2024 to positive review, with The New York Times that it offers, "a more intimate picture of the dictator’s thinking about world politics, local power and his relationship to the United States than has been seen before".
[15] The Washington Post argued that despite its holistic picture of Hussein, Coll failed to accurately portray the CIA's motivations.
[16] In a March 2024 interview, Coll told PBS that the contributions by Hussein were missing from American's understanding of the war.
[17]
Honors and awards
1990:
Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting (co-winner with
David A. Vise )
[8]
1991:
Livingston Award for International Reporting for "Crisis and Change in South Asia,"
The Washington Post (winner)
[18]
2000:
Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for "Peace Without Justice: A Journey to the Wounded Heart of Africa," The Washington Post (1st Prize: International Print)
2000: Ed Cunningham Award for "Peace Without Justice: A Journey to the Wounded Heart of Africa", The Washington Post
[19]
2004:
Lionel Gelber Prize for
Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 (winner)
2004:
Cornelius Ryan Award for Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 (winner)
[20]
2005:
Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 (winner)
[21]
2005:
Arthur Ross Book Award for Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 (winner)
2008:
National Book Critics Circle Award (biography) for The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century (finalist)
[22]
2009:
PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century (winner)
2012:
Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award for Private Empire (winner)
[23]
2012: National Book Critics Circle Award (nonfiction) for Private Empire (finalist)
[24]
2018: National Book Critics Circle Award (nonfiction) for Directorate S (winner)
[25]
Bibliography
Podcasts
References
^ Coll, Steve (June 10, 1990).
"Growing Up Suburban" . Washington Post Magazine .
^
a
b
"Steve Coll named Dean of J-School" . journalism.columbia.edu . Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Archived from
the original on March 19, 2013. Retrieved March 18, 2013 .
^
"Steve Coll" . Columbia Journalism School . Retrieved 5 January 2018 .
^
"Conversations with History" (Interview). Interviewed by
Harry Kreisler . University of California, Berkeley. March 15, 2005. Retrieved January 5, 2018 .
^
"Historical Winners List" .
UCLA Anderson School of Management . Retrieved January 31, 2019 .
^
"Government Investment Series Wins Loeb Award" . Los Angeles Times . May 2, 1995. Retrieved February 1, 2019 .
^
"David A. Vise and Steve Coll of The Washington Post - The Pulitzer Prizes" . The Pultizer Prizes .
^
a
b
"The Pulitzer Prizes | Awards" . Pulitzer.org. Retrieved March 17, 2013 .
^
"Contributors: Steve Coll" . Newyorker.com. Archived from
the original on March 12, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2013 .
^ Cohen, Patricia (July 23, 2007).
"Journalist Chosen to Lead a Public Policy Institute" . The New York Times .
^
"Steve Coll" . NewAmerica.net. Archived from
the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2013 .
^
"Abiz Top 50 Business Luncheon - August 23, 2012" . 17 July 2012.
^
"The Pulitzer Prizes | Journalist, playwright and regional newspaper editor named to Pulitzer Prize Board" . Pulitzer.org. Retrieved March 17, 2013 .
^ Kaminer, Ariel (March 18, 2013).
"Columbia Names New Dean for Journalism School" .
The New York Times . Retrieved March 18, 2013 .
^ Malone, Noreen (2024-02-26).
"Is America All-Knowing and All-Powerful? Yes, Thought Saddam Hussein" . The New York Times .
ISSN
0362-4331 . Retrieved 2024-03-12 .
^
"Review | Steve Coll's latest shows Saddam Hussein's practical side" . Washington Post . 2024-02-27.
ISSN
0190-8286 . Retrieved 2024-03-12 .
^
" 'The Achilles Trap' offers a new look at Saddam Hussein's relationship with the U.S." PBS NewsHour . 2024-03-10. Retrieved 2024-03-12 .
^
"Past Winners | Livingston Awards" . Livawards.org. Archived from
the original on March 22, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2013 .
^ Award Name: 10 The Ed Cunningham Award (7 April 2001).
"The Ed Cunningham Award 2000 | Overseas Press Club of America" . Opcofamerica.org. Retrieved March 17, 2013 . {{
cite web }}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link )
^ Award Name: 14 The Cornelius Ryan Award (10 April 2005).
"The Cornelius Ryan Award 2004 | Overseas Press Club of America" . Opcofamerica.org. Retrieved March 17, 2013 . {{
cite web }}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link )
^
"The Pulitzer Prizes | Citation" . Pulitzer.org. March 11, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2013 .
^
"National Book Critics Circle: 2008 NBCC Finalists Announced" . bookcritics.org . Archived from
the original on January 26, 2009.
^ Muchnick, Laurie (November 3, 2012).
"Steve Coll Wins FT/Goldman Prize for Exxon Mobil Study" .
Business Week . Archived from
the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved November 4, 2012 .
^ Williams, John (January 14, 2012).
"National Book Critics Circle Names 2012 Award Finalists" .
New York Times . Retrieved January 15, 2013 .
^ Italie, Hillel (March 14, 2018).
"Zadie Smith, Anna Burns among winners of critics prizes" . The Washington Post . The Associated Press. Archived from
the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019 .
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Steve Coll .
Interviews
(1974–1979) (1980–1989)
1980:
Cathleen Decker ,
William J. Eaton ,
Norman Kempster ,
Penelope McMillan ,
Larry Pryor ,
Tom Redburn ,
William C. Rempel ,
Gaylord Shaw ,
Bill Stall
1981:
Jonathan Neumann ,
Ted Gup
1982:
Linda Grant ,
Karen Tumulty
1983:
Robert Frump
1984:
Dan Morgan
1984 (HM):
Ted Gup
1985:
Paul Blustein
1985 (HM):
Jane Applegate ,
Patrick Boyle ,
James Flanigan ,
Linda Grant ,
Michael Hiltzik ,
John Lawrence ,
Paul Richter ,
Nancy Rivera ,
Debra Whitefield
1986:
Ken Auletta
1987:
Kimberly Greer
1988:
Daniel Hertzberg ,
James B. Stewart
1989:
Donald L. Barlett ,
James B. Steele
(1990–1999) (2000–2009)
2000:
Ellen E. Schultz
2001:
Ronald Campbell ,
William Heisel ,
Mark Katches
2002:
David Heath ,
Duff Wilson
2003:
Alec Klein
2004:
David B. Ottaway ,
Joe Stephens
2005:
Walt Bogdanich
2006:
Ann Hardie ,
Alan Judd ,
Carrie Teegardin
2007:
James Bandler ,
Charles Forelle ,
Mark Maremont ,
Steve Stecklow
2008:
David Barboza ,
Walt Bogdanich ,
Jake Hooker ,
Andrew W. Lehren
2009:
Jo Becker ,
Julie Creswell ,
Eric Dash ,
Carter Dougherty ,
Charles Duhigg ,
Peter S. Goodman ,
Stephen Labaton ,
Gretchen Morgenson ,
Sheryl Gay Stolberg
(2010–2014)
2010:
Andrew Martin ,
Michael Moss
2011:
Alexandra Berzon ,
Douglas A. Blackmon ,
Ana Campoy ,
Ben Casselman ,
Russell Gold ,
Vanessa O'Connell
2012:
Ken Bensinger
2013:
Patricia Callahan ,
Michael Hawthorne ,
Sam Roe
2014:
Barton Gellman ,
Ellen Nakashima ,
Laura Poitras ,
Steven Rich ,
Ashkan Soltani ,
Craig Timberg
Previously the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism from 1985–1997
1985–2000 2000–2025
Eric Newhouse (2000)
Staff of the
Chicago Tribune (2001)
Staff of
The New York Times (2002)
Staff of
The Wall Street Journal (2003)
Kevin Helliker &
Thomas M. Burton (2004)
Gareth Cook (2005)
David Finkel (2006)
Kenneth R. Weiss ,
Usha Lee McFarling &
Rick Loomis (2007)
Amy Harmon (2008)
Bettina Boxall &
Julie Cart (2009)
Michael Moss & Staff of
The New York Times (2010)
Mark Johnson ,
Kathleen Gallagher ,
Gary Porter ,
Lou Saldivar &
Alison Sherwood (2011)
David Kocieniewski (2012)
Staff of
The New York Times including
David Barboza ,
Charles Duhigg ,
David Kocieniewski ,
Steve Lohr ,
John Markoff ,
David Segal ,
David Streitfeld ,
Hiroko Tabuchi &
Bill Vlasic (2013)
Eli Saslow (2014)
Zachary R. Mider (2015)
T. Christian Miller &
Ken Armstrong (2016)
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists ,
McClatchy &
Miami Herald (2017)
Staff of
The Arizona Republic & Staff of
USA Today Network (2018)
David Barstow ,
Susanne Craig &
Russ Buettne (2019)
Staff of
The Washington Post (2020)
Ed Yong (2021)
Andrew Chung, Lawrence Hurley, Andrea Januta, Jaimi Dowdell and Jackie Botts (2021)
Natalie Wolchover & Staff of
Quanta Magazine (2022)
Caitlin Dickerson (2023)
}}
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