Steve Coll (born October 8, 1958) is an American

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, 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 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 John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, 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. He moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, and enrolled in Occidental College, where he was a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

. In 1980, he graduated '' cum laude'' with majors in English and history. Coll also attended the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

during his studies. Coll is married to the journalist and poet Eliza Griswold.

Career

Journalism

After college, Coll wrote for the Pasadena Weekly. He then wrote general-interest articles for ''California'' magazine. In 1985, he started working for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' 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 New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. He and

David A. Vise David A. Vise (born June 16, 1960), is a journalist and author. He is a Senior Advisor to New Mountain Capital, a New York-based investment firm, and Executive Director of Modern States “Freshman Year for Free,” a philanthropy whose goal is t ...

collaborated on a series of reports scrutinizing the Securities and Exchange Commission for which they received the 1990

Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting The Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting has been presented since 1998, for a distinguished example of explanatory reporting that illuminates a significant and complex subject, demonstrating mastery of the subject, lucid writing and clear p ...

and the Gerald Loeb Award for Large Newspapers. In 1989, he moved to

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...

, when he was appointed as the ''Post's'' South Asia bureau chief. He served as a foreign correspondent through 1995. 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.

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. 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''. On October 23, 2012, Coll was elected to the Pulitzer Prize Board, administered by

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manha ...

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

On March 18, 2013, Coll was announced to succeed

Nick Lemann Nicholas Berthelot Lemann is an American writer and academic, the Joseph Pulitzer II and Edith Pulitzer Moore Professor of Journalism and Dean Emeritus of the Faculty of Journalism at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He has be ...

as the Dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, effective July 1, 2013.

Honors and awards

* 1990:

(co-winner with

) * 1991: Livingston Award for International Reporting for "Crisis and Change in South Asia", ''

'' (winner) * 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'' * 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) * 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) * 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) * 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) * 2012: National Book Critics Circle Award (nonfiction) for ''Private Empire'' (finalist) * 2018: National Book Critics Circle Award (nonfiction) for ''Directorate S'' (winner)

Bibliography

* * * * * * * *

Podcasts

* * * * *

References

External links

Steve Coll
at '' The New York Review of Books'' *

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 {{DEFAULTSORT:Coll, Steve 1958 births Living people American newspaper reporters and correspondents American newspaper editors American male journalists American war correspondents War correspondents of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) American non-fiction crime writers The New Yorker staff writers Espionage writers Occidental College alumni Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction winners Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism winners 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers New America (organization) Gerald Loeb Award winners for Large Newspapers Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs 21st-century American male writers Columbia University faculty