Ben Anderson (journalist)

Benjamin John Anderson was born in Cleveland, Yorkshire, United Kingdom in 1974.[1] He grew up in Bedford,[2] and was educated at Bedford Modern School.[3] His father worked in various working-class jobs,[4] including as a painter and policeman, and encouraged Anderson to learn a trade.[2]

According to Anderson, he became interested in world events at around age 16 or 17.[2][5] He read an article about the British government supporting the Indonesian invasion of East Timor and was outraged,[5] but dismayed to find others around him were unaware of the event.[4][6] He then realized he could do "useful" work as a journalist.[5]

According to his r/IAmA on Reddit, Anderson did not study journalism in college.[7] He was the first member of his family to attend university, but quit after a year.[4]

Around age 21, Anderson wrote and submitted articles about the invasion of East Timor, but received rejections and did not travel there.[4] He had wanted to be a writer,[4] but became interested in documentary or TV news after watching World in Action by John Pilger.[2]

According to Anderson,[8] his first film ever was in 1997 for Channel 4, in which he filmed undercover as an employee of a Service Corporation International funeral home.[9][5][4] He did three or four months of unpaid overtime, undercover.[4] In the film, he exposed employees treating dead bodies with disrespect, including "throwing around" the corpses of babies and using occupied coffins "as rubbish bins".[4][9] Service Corporation sued to prevent the release of the film, but lost.[9][10]

The film received positive attention and won awards, leading to the BBC offering him a job.[4][5]

As of 2019, Anderson lived in Brooklyn, New York.[33] He had no children as of 2019.[4][14][34] He has been interested in boxing since childhood.[14][30][33]

For much of his career, Anderson travelled alone, although he traveled with a cameraperson for some films.[5][16] He said traveling alone helped him move faster and reduced concerns about accounting for others' safety.[5][16]

In 2015, he said his biggest fear as a war correspondent was having his mother see him in a traumatizing video.[35] He also feared being maimed or killed by improvised explosive devices.[16][35] He has denied doing the work for the thrill,[15] and said he found the work more like "an endurance test".[5] In 2015, he described the Islamic State as being the most violent group he had seen in his career.[16]

He has PTSD from his experiences.[33] He described feeling numb to both enjoyable and traumatic experiences.[12] For example, he said he felt "bored" during the 2016–2017 Battle of Mosul, in which he was in close proximity to active combat and suicide bombers.[14]

He underwent MDMA-assisted psychotherapy and Ketamine-assisted psychotherapy to treat it.[12][14][15] He reported feeling somewhat better in 2019.[14] In 2020, it was reported that the treatments were unsuccessful.[12]

He received the Foreign Press Award.[36] In 2013, he received the award for Prix Bayeux for Grand Format television for his BBC documentary Mission Accomplished? Secrets of Helmand.[37] That year he also received the Frontline Club Award for Broadcast for This is What Winning Looks Like.[38] In 2016, his piece Fighting Isis won the 2016 Emmy for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Nonfiction Program.[31][39]

He was nominated each year between 2015 and 2018 for the Outstanding Informational Series or Special award in the Emmys for his work at Vice.[40] Taking on the Taliban was shortlisted for RTS programme and Journalism awards, as well as a BAFTA.[41]