Steve Coll
Encyclopedia
Steve Coll is a Pulitzer Prize
-winning American
journalist
and writer. Coll is currently president and CEO of the New America Foundation
. Prior to assuming that post on September 17, 2007, Coll was a staff writer for The New Yorker
, and served as managing editor of The Washington Post
from 1998 to 2004. Coll was also an associate editor for The Post from late 2004 to August 2005. Coll used to maintain a blog on The New Yorker
website entitled Think Tank, where he wrote primarily on issues of foreign and public policy, and American national security.
in 1976. He moved to the west coast, attending Occidental College
in Los Angeles, California
, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1980 with majors in English and History.
He is the writer of numerous books, including the 2005 Pulitzer Prize winner for general non-fiction, Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
. Coll also won a Pulitzer Prize
in 1990 for explanatory journalism for his coverage of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Coll's career as a journalist began at California magazine, where he eventually became a contributing editor. Coll started working for the Post as a general assignment feature writer in 1985 for the paper's Style section, quickly moving up to become a New York
stationed financial correspondent in 1987. He subsequently moved to New Delhi
in 1989, becoming the Post's South Asia bureau chief. From 1995-1998, he worked for the Washington Post Magazine, serving as publisher beginning in 1996.
On July 23, 2007, Coll was named to become the next director of the New America Foundation
, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute headquartered in Washington, D.C.
His book The Bin Ladens was a finalist for the 2008 National Book Critics Circle Award
.
criticized Coll's "shameful attacks" on Wikileaks
head Julian Assange
. According to Samuels, Coll "sniffed that 'the archives that WikiLeaks
has published are much less significant than the Pentagon Papers
were in their day' while depicting Assange as a 'self-aggrandizing control-freak'" whose website 'lacks an ethical culture that is consonant with the ideals of free media
.'
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and writer. Coll is currently president and CEO of the New America Foundation
New America Foundation
The New America Foundation is a non-profit public policy institute and think tank with offices in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, CA. It was founded in 1999 by Ted Halstead, Sherle Schwenninger, Michael Lind and Walter Russell Mead....
. Prior to assuming that post on September 17, 2007, Coll was a staff writer for The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, and served as managing editor of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
from 1998 to 2004. Coll was also an associate editor for The Post from late 2004 to August 2005. Coll used to maintain a blog on The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
website entitled Think Tank, where he wrote primarily on issues of foreign and public policy, and American national security.
Life
Born in Washington, DC, Coll graduated from Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, MarylandRockville, Maryland
Rockville is the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a major incorporated city in the central part of Montgomery County and forms part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The 2010 U.S...
in 1976. He moved to the west coast, attending Occidental College
Occidental College
Occidental College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887, Occidental College, or "Oxy" as it is called by students and alumni, is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges on the West Coast...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1980 with majors in English and History.
He is the writer of numerous books, including the 2005 Pulitzer Prize winner for general non-fiction, Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
Ghost Wars
Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001, written by Steve Coll, published in 2004 by Penguin Press, won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction....
. Coll also won a Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
in 1990 for explanatory journalism for his coverage of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Coll's career as a journalist began at California magazine, where he eventually became a contributing editor. Coll started working for the Post as a general assignment feature writer in 1985 for the paper's Style section, quickly moving up to become a New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
stationed financial correspondent in 1987. He subsequently moved to New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
in 1989, becoming the Post's South Asia bureau chief. From 1995-1998, he worked for the Washington Post Magazine, serving as publisher beginning in 1996.
On July 23, 2007, Coll was named to become the next director of the New America Foundation
New America Foundation
The New America Foundation is a non-profit public policy institute and think tank with offices in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, CA. It was founded in 1999 by Ted Halstead, Sherle Schwenninger, Michael Lind and Walter Russell Mead....
, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute headquartered in Washington, D.C.
His book The Bin Ladens was a finalist for the 2008 National Book Critics Circle Award
National Book Critics Circle Award
The National Book Critics Circle Award is an annual award given by the National Book Critics Circle to promote the finest books and reviews published in English....
.
Criticism
Atlantic contributor David SamuelsDavid Samuels (writer)
David Samuels is an American non-fiction writer, best-known for long-form journalism and essays. He is a contributing editor at Harper's Magazine and a frequent contributor to The Atlantic and The New Yorker.-Background and education:...
criticized Coll's "shameful attacks" on Wikileaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
head Julian Assange
Julian Assange
Julian Paul Assange is an Australian publisher, journalist, writer, computer programmer and Internet activist. He is the editor in chief of WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website and conduit for worldwide news leaks with the stated purpose of creating open governments.WikiLeaks has published material...
. According to Samuels, Coll "sniffed that 'the archives that WikiLeaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
has published are much less significant than the Pentagon Papers
Pentagon Papers
The Pentagon Papers, officially titled United States – Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967: A Study Prepared by the Department of Defense, is a United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political-military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967...
were in their day' while depicting Assange as a 'self-aggrandizing control-freak'" whose website 'lacks an ethical culture that is consonant with the ideals of free media
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
.'
Books
- The Deal of the Century: The Break Up of AT&T (1986) ISBN 0-689-11757-4
- The Taking of Getty Oil: The Full Story of the Most Spectacular & Catastrophic Takeover of All Time (1989) ISBN 0-04-440330-5
- Eagle on the Street (1992) ISBN 0-02-008162-6
- On the Grand Trunk Road: A Journey into South Asia (1993) ISBN 0-8129-2026-0
- Ghost Wars : The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001Ghost WarsGhost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001, written by Steve Coll, published in 2004 by Penguin Press, won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction....
(2004) ISBN 1-59420-007-6 - The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century (April 2008) ISBN 978-1594201646
External links
- Steve Coll's page on the New America FoundationNew America FoundationThe New America Foundation is a non-profit public policy institute and think tank with offices in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, CA. It was founded in 1999 by Ted Halstead, Sherle Schwenninger, Michael Lind and Walter Russell Mead....
website (Publications, press releases and events) - New America Foundation Homepage
- Steve Coll discusses Ghost Wars on National Public Radio's All Things ConsideredAll Things ConsideredAll Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
, August 2004 (three-part online audio series) - Steve Coll interview on Ghost Wars at the Pritzker Military LibraryPritzker Military LibraryThe Pritzker Military Library is a research library for the study of military history in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded in 2003 by COL James N. Pritzker, IL ARNG to be a non-partisan institution for the study of "the citizen soldier as an essential element for the preservation of...
- Hour-long interview about "The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century" by Amy GoodmanAmy GoodmanAmy Goodman is an American progressive broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter and author. Goodman is the host of Democracy Now!, an independent global news program broadcast daily on radio, television and the internet.-Early life:Goodman was born in Bay Shore, New York...
on Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
, September 15, 2008 (video, audio, and print transcript) - Steve Coll interview on The Bin Ladens
- Steve Coll's blog: Think Tank on The New YorkerThe New YorkerThe New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
website - Video (with mp3 available) of conversation with Coll on Bloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tv is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast online to viewers...
- The Cabinet of Dr. Strangelove by Steve Coll from The New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of BooksThe New York Review of Books is a fortnightly magazine with articles on literature, culture and current affairs. Published in New York City, it takes as its point of departure that the discussion of important books is itself an indispensable literary activity...