Steve Coll

Steve Coll
Steve Coll, 2012
Born	(1958-10-08) October 8, 1958 Washington, D.C.
Occupation	Journalist, author, business executive
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Occidental College
Genre	Journalism
Notable works	Ghost Wars; The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century
Notable awards	Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting (1990); Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction (2005)
Literature portal

Steve Coll (born October 8, 1958) is an American journalist, academic and executive. He is currently the dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he is also the Henry R. Luce Professor of Journalism. A staff writer for The New Yorker, he served as the president and CEO of the New America Foundation 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

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. 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.

Family

Coll is married to journalist and poet Eliza Griswold.^[1]

Professional background

Steve Coll (right) with Richard N. Haass, President of the Council on Foreign Relations

California magazine

In 1980, following his graduation from Occidental College, Coll joined the writing staff of California magazine, eventually working on staff as a contributing editor.

The Washington Post

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. 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.^[2]

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.

The New Yorker

In September 2005, Coll joined the writing staff of The New Yorker. He is based in Washington, D.C., and reports on foreign intelligence and national security.^[3]

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.^[4][5] 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.^[6]

Pulitzer Prize Board

On October 23, 2012, Coll was elected to the Pulitzer Prize Board, administered by Columbia University.^[7]

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

On March 18, 2013, Coll was announced to succeed Nick Lemann as the Dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, effective July 1, 2013.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Honors and awards

• 1990: Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting (co-winner with David A. Vise)^[2]
• 1991: Livingston Award for International Reporting for "Crisis and Change in South Asia", The Washington Post (winner)^[12]
• 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^[13]
• 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)^[14]
• 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)^[15]
• 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 for The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century (finalist)^[16]
• 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)^[17]
• 2012: National Book Critics Circle Award for Private Empire (finalist)^[18]

Bibliography

Books

• Coll, Steve (1986). The deal of the century : the breakup of AT&T. Atheneum. 
• — (1987). The taking of Getty Oil : the full story of the most spectacular & catastrophic takeover of all time. Scribner. 
• Vise, David A.; Coll, Steve (1991). Eagle on the Street : based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the SEC's battle with Wall Street. New York: Scribner's. 
• Coll, Steve (1993). On the Grand Trunk Road : a journey into South Asia. Crown Press. 
• — (2004). Ghost wars : the secret history of the CIA, Afghanistan and Bin Laden, from the Soviet invasion to September 10, 2001. Penguin. 
• — (2008). The Bin Ladens : an Arabian family in the American Century. Penguin. 
• Coll, Steve (2012). Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power, Penguin Press, 704 pages. ISBN 978-1594203350

Essays and reporting

• Coll, Steve (November 10, 2008). "The test". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 84 (36): 29–30. Retrieved 2015-11-29. 
• — (October 26, 2009). "War and Politics". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 85 (34): 31–32. 
• — (11 October 2010). "Behind Closed Doors". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 86 (31): 35–36. 
• — (8 November 2010). "Leaks". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 86 (35): 27–28. Retrieved 21 November 2011. 
• — (April 4, 2011). "The Casbah Coalition". Letter from Tunis. The New Yorker. 87 (7): 34–40. Retrieved 2014-05-15. 
• — (March 4, 2013). "Name calling". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 89 (3): 17–18. Retrieved 2015-05-06. 
• — (April 1, 2013). "The spy who said too much : why the Administration targeted a C.I.A. officer". The Political Scene. The New Yorker. 89 (7): 54–63. Retrieved 2016-01-01.  John Kiriakou
• — (May 6, 2013). "Remote control : our drone delusion". The Critics. Books. The New Yorker. 89 (12): 76–79. 
• — (June 10–17, 2013). "The President and the press". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 89 (17): 39–40. CS1 maint: Date format (link)
• — (July 1, 2013). "Options". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 89 (19): 19–20. 
• — (March 24, 2014). "The Senator vs. the C.I.A.". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 90 (5): 31–32. Retrieved 2015-02-23. 
• — (July 27, 2015). "The Deal". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 91 (21): 17–18. Retrieved 2015-11-29. 
• — (August 8–15, 2016). "Defying conventions". The Talk of the Town. Comment. The New Yorker. 92 (24): 19–20. CS1 maint: Date format (link)^[19]
• Coll, Steve (February 6, 2017). "Info Wars". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 31, 2017. 

References

External links

• Steve Coll at The New York Review of Books
• Appearances on C-SPAN

Interviews

• Steve Coll discusses Ghost Wars on National Public Radio's All Things Considered, August 2004 (three-part online audio series)
• Hour-long interview about "The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century" by Amy Goodman on Democracy Now!, September 15, 2008 (video, audio, and print transcript)
• Video (with mp3 available) of conversation with Coll on Bloggingheads.tv
• Webcast Interview on The Bin Ladens at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library on October 23, 2008
• Webcast Interview on Ghost Wars at the Pritzker Military Museum & Library on January 27, 2005