{{short description|American journalist|bot=PearBOT 5}}{{Infobox person | name = Pamela Colloff | alma_mater = Brown University | occupation = Journalist | employer = ProPublica, ''The New York Times Magazine'' | awards = National Magazine Award (2013, 2020) }}
'''Pamela Colloff''' is an American journalist. She is a reporter at ProPublica and a staff writer at ''The New York Times Magazine.'' Additionally, she has contributed to ''The New Yorker'', as well as ''Texas Monthly'', where she was formerly an executive editor.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foundation |first=Nieman |date=2021-04-26 |title=“Targeted” by Tampa Bay Times wins 2020 Taylor Family Award for Fairness in Journalism |url=https://nieman.harvard.edu/targeted-by-tampa-bay-times-wins-2020-taylor-family-award-for-fairness-in-journalism/ |access-date=2026-05-04 |website=Nieman Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref>
Colloff has won the National Magazine Award twice: in 2013 for Feature Writing Incorporating Profile Writing, and in 2020 for Reporting.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=NATIONAL MAGAZINE AWARDS 2013 WINNERS ANNOUNCED |url=https://www.asme.media/national-magazine-awards-2013-winners-announced |access-date=2026-05-04 |website=www.asme.media}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MAGAZINE EDITORS ANNOUNCES WINNERS FOR 2020 NATIONAL MAGAZINE AWARDS |url=https://www.asme.media/the-american-society-of-magazine-editors-announces-winners-for-2020-national-magazine-awards#:~:text=Quanta, |access-date=2026-05-04 |website=www.asme.media}}</ref>
== Early life and education == Colloff and her brother, David, were raised in Manhattan. Her father, Roger D. Colloff, was the vice president and general manager of WCBS-TV in New York City, and her mother, Margery A. Colloff, is counsel to a law firm.<ref name="NYTWedding">{{cite news|title=Pamela Colloff and Chad Nichols|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/16/fashion/weddings/pamela-colloff-and-chad-nichols.html?_r=0|work=The New York Times|date=October 16, 2005}}</ref><ref name="NYTObituary">{{cite news|last1=Carter|first1=Bill|title=Roger Colloff, 46; Led CBS Flagship To Several Emmys|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/07/us/roger-colloff-46-led-cbs-flagship-to-several-emmys.html|work=The New York Times|date=7 February 1992}}</ref>
Colloff began writing when she was 17 years old and interviewed Allen Ginsberg when he visited her high school. The transcript was published in an "alternative newspaper" that Colloff and others published during their senior year of high school.<ref name="Williams">{{cite web|last1=Williams|first1=Paige|title=Annotation Tuesday! Pamela Colloff and the innocent man, Part 1|url=https://niemanstoryboard.org/stories/annotation-tuesday-pamela-colloff-and-the-innocent-man-part-1/|website=Nieman Storyboard|publisher=Nieman Foundation|date=19 March 2013}}</ref>
Colloff then attended Brown University. Since it didn't offer a journalism degree, she majored in English literature instead, completing several independent studies in which she focused on long-form journalism.<ref name="ColloffAuthorPage">{{cite web|last1=Colloff|first1=Pamela|title=All posts by Pamela Colloff|url=http://www.texasmonthly.com/author/pamela-colloff/|website=Texas Monthly}}</ref><ref name="Williams"/> Some of her stories were published in a now-defunct college magazine and later picked up by the Associated Press.<ref name="Tribeza">{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Clay|title=The 10 of 2010: Pamela Colloff, Journalist|url=http://205.186.161.206/magazine_content/10-2010-pamela-colloff-journalist|work=Tribeza|issue=December 2010}}</ref>
== Career == After college, Colloff moved to Austin, Texas, and sought freelancing opportunities.<ref name="Williams"/> She wrote for ''Texas Highway Patrol'', a local trade magazine, and also published stories in ''Might'' and ''Details''.<ref name="HilltopViews">{{cite news|last1=Dibrell|first1=Denae|title=Writer who helped exonerate wrongfully accused visits campus|url=http://www.hilltopviewsonline.com/news/writer-who-helped-exonerate-wrongfully-accused-visits-campus/article_6fa0a250-95d2-11e3-973e-001a4bcf6878.html|work=Hilltop Views|date=14 February 2014}}</ref> In 1997, she began working for ''Texas Monthly'' as a staff writer, later becoming its executive editor.<ref name=ColloffAuthorPage/> In 2017, she joined ProPublica and ''The New York Times Magazine'' in a joint reporting partnership.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.propublica.org/site/author/pamela_colloff|title=Pamela Colloff - ProPublica|website=ProPublica|language=en|access-date=2017-06-12}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/media/story/2017/03/pam-colloff-joins-propublica-nyt-mag-in-new-reporting-partnership-004942/|title=Pam Colloff joins ProPublica, NYT Mag in new reporting partnership|last=Pompeo|first=Joe|date=2017-03-13|work=POLITICO Media|access-date=2017-06-12|publisher=Politico}}</ref>
Colloff's first book, ''Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf Coast'' is scheduled for release in July 2026. It received a starred review from ''Kirkus Reviews'' which called it a "fiery indictment of a system that rewards jailbird snitches for 'telling just the right story.'"<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/pamela-colloff/catch-the-devil/ |title=CATCH THE DEVIL {{!}} Kirkus Reviews |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pamela Colloff – Texas Book Festival |url=https://texasbookfestival.org/directory/moderator/pamela-colloff-2025/ |access-date=2026-02-25 |website=texasbookfestival.org}}</ref>
=== "Innocence Lost" and "Innocence Found" === Colloff's two-part story, "Innocence Lost" and "Innocence Found," published from 2010 to 2011, details the case of death row inmate Anthony Charles Graves, who was wrongly convicted in 1992 for the murder of a family in Somerville, Texas.<ref name="InnocenceLost">{{cite news|last1=Colloff|first1=Pamela|title=Innocence Lost|url=http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/innocence-lost/|work=Texas Monthly|issue=October 2010}}</ref> One month after Colloff published "Innocence Lost," the Burleson County District Attorney's Office dropped all charges against Graves and released him after 18 years of incarceration.<ref name="NiemanFoundationNews">{{cite web|title=Investigative reporter Pamela Colloff wins Louis M. Lyons Award|url=https://nieman.harvard.edu/news/2013/12/investigative-reporter-pamela-colloff-wins-louis-m-lyons-award/.|website=Nieman Foundation News|publisher=Nieman Foundation|date=13 December 2013}}</ref>
=== "The Innocent Man" === Colloff's two-part 2013 story, "The Innocent Man," details the case of Michael Morton, who was wrongly convicted for the murder of his wife in 1986.<ref name="PartOne">{{cite news|last1=Colloff|first1=Pamela|title=The Innocent Man, Part One|url=http://www.texasmonthly.com/politics/the-innocent-man-part-one/|work=Texas Monthly|issue=November 2012}}</ref> After being incarcerated for 25 years, Morton was released, and Colloff subsequently won a National Magazine Award for her reporting.<ref name="NiemanFoundationNews" /><ref name="PartTwo">{{cite news|last1=Colloff|first1=Pamela|title=The Innocent Man, Part Two|url=http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-innocent-man-part-two/|work=Texas Monthly|issue=December 2012}}</ref>
The story was originally meant to be published as one cohesive piece, but Colloff's editor suggested breaking the story into two parts when the story reached 16,000 words.<ref name="Williams"/>
=== "96 Minutes" === Colloff's 2006 story, "96 Minutes," collected dozens of quotations from survivors and witnesses of the 1966 University of Texas tower shooting.<ref name="96 Minutes">{{cite news|last1=Colloff|first1=Pamela|title=96 Minutes|url=http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/96-minutes/|work=Texas Monthly|issue=August 2006}}</ref> It inspired Keith Maitland's 2016 documentary film ''Tower''.<ref name=Sliva>Sliva, Vanessa. "[http://www.dailytexanonline.com/2014/05/01/tower-shows-1966-shooting-from-ground 'Tower' shows 1966 shooting from ground]." ''The Daily Texan''. May 1, 2014. Retrieved on March 1, 2016.</ref>
=== Oklahoma Survivors' Act === Colloff's 2026 stories about the Oklahoma Survivors' Act observed a new law that allowed survivors of domestic violence to ask for reduced sentences if their crimes were partly motivated by the abuse they faced. It inspired Colleen McCarty to run against the Tulsa incumbent known for fighting against those cases.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Colloff |first=Pamela |date=2026-02-22 |title=They Were Convicted of Killing Their Abusers. A New Law Offered a Second Chance at Freedom. |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/oklahoma-survivors-act-domestic-violence |access-date=2026-03-20 |website=ProPublica |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Colloff |first=Pamela |last2= |first2= |last3= |last4= |first4= |date=2026-02-22 |title=They Killed Their Abusers. Should They Spend Their Lives in Prison? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/22/magazine/oklahoma-domestic-violence-survivors-act.html |access-date=2026-03-20 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
== Awards == {| class="wikitable" |+ !Year !Award !Category !Recipient !Result !Ref |- |2001 |National Magazine Awards |Public Interest |"[http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/they-havent-got-a-prayer/ They Haven't Got a Prayer]" |{{Nominated}} |<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=National Magazine Awards |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/national-magazine-awards/ |website=Texas Monthly}}</ref> |- |2010 |Sidney Awards |October Sidney | rowspan="2" |"[http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/innocence-lost/ Innocence Lost]" and "[http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/innocence-found/ Innocence Found]" |{{Won}} |<ref name="Sidney">{{cite web|title=Pamela Colloff Wins October Sidney for Investigation into the Case of Anthony Graves|url=https://www.hillmanfoundation.org/thesidney/pamela-colloff|website=Sidney Awards|publisher=The Sidney Hillman Foundation|date=November 2010}}</ref> |- |2011 | rowspan="3" |National Magazine Awards |Public Interest |{{Nominated}} | rowspan="3" |<ref name=":4" /> |- | rowspan="3" |2013 |Feature Writing Incorporating Profile Writing |"[https://www.texasmonthly.com/true-crime/the-innocent-man-part-one/ The Innocent Man]" |{{Won}} |- |Public Interest |"[http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/hannah-and-andrew/ Hannah and Andrew]" |{{Nominated}} |- | colspan="2" |Louis M. Lyons Award for Conscience and Integrity in Journalism |Pamela Colloff |{{Won}} |<ref name="NiemanFoundationNews" /> |- |2015 | rowspan="3" |National Magazine Awards | rowspan="2" |Feature Writing |"[http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-witness/ The Witness]" |{{Nominated}} | rowspan="3" |<ref name=":4" /> |- |2017 |"[https://asme.memberclicks.net/ellies-2017-finalists-announced The Reckoning]" |{{Nominated}} |- |2020 |Reporting |"[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/04/magazine/jailhouse-informant.html False Witness]" |{{Won}} |}
== Personal life == In 2005, Colloff married Chad Davidson Nichols.<ref name="NYTWedding"/> Together, they live in Austin with their two children.<ref name=ColloffAuthorPage/>
Colloff is of Jewish descent.<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/TexasHillel/posts/congratulations-pamela-colloff-pamela-is-the-editor-of-texas-monthly-and-just-tw/397888597010960/ "Texas Hillel Congratulates Pamela Colloff."] @TexasHillel Facebook Group. Published December 13, 2013. Accessed August, 24, 2020.</ref><ref>[https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/northjersey/obituary.aspx?n=shirley-edith-colloff-dessen&pid=86803805 "Shirley Edith (Dessen) Colloff (Obituary)."] Legacy.com. ''www.legacy.com''. Published March 16, 2007. Accessed August 24, 2020.</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Colloff, Pamela}} Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:American people of Jewish descent Category:American women journalists Category:American women chief executives Category:Brown University alumni Category:21st-century American women