Terry Anderson's Den Of Lions

Terry Anderson’s view of the news media fluctuates throughout the novel, Den of Lions. When he first begins his escapades of being a war correspondent, he is almost enchanted by each new place he visits, whether that is Japan, South Africa or Beirut, Syria. Of course, he prefers some places over others but is overall gripped by each new culture he comes across through his job as a journalist. When the war began to break out in Lebanon, Terry begins to admire Robert Fisk, a correspondent for the London Times. He notices how Fisk is able to remain neutral and somehow put the pain of witnessing war away. Fisk also advocated reporting all their mistakes and wickedness equally, whether it be cruel actions from the Israelis, Lebanese, Syrians, Palestinians,
Although Madeline avoids the press for her safety, she wants Terry to have some sort of way to see his loved ones, especially his youngest daughter. To do this, she contacts local Beruit television stations so that Terry could see his daughter was growing up. For months, Terry and the other hostages are forbidden to watch the news, but a CNN suddenly comes on as they are watching a comedy show. The news details (272) a plane hijacked by Shiite fundamentalists demanding the release of 17 Shiites in exchange for Terry and the other hostages. After being caught off from news media for several months, Terry and the hostages are at first fascinated but are quickly overcame with nerves and turn off the TV from the fear of being caught. This report brings hope for them being released, but at this point, the guards have told Terry so many times that he would be released soon so Terry has a difficult time fully believing them. The hostages then use the radio to keep up with American affairs whether that is the election, an American being released from captivity or American warfare and the causalities it has
He mentions that if he kept on war reporting, he never could have written Tribe. His mind wouldn’t have been in that place that it had to be in to think about what it’s like to live in civilian society. According to Junger, war reporting is very dynamic, very exciting, occasionally traumatizing. It’s emotionally extreme in a lot of ways. Once he stopped war reporting, he was able to think with a little more nuance and some more quietness. This is similar to Terry Anderson’s experience before and after his captivity. Like Junger, at first he was immersed in the excitement and dynamism of journalism, but once he was captured and away from it after a few years, he realized how damaging the war was, especially to journalists and their personal lives. War correspondents are still experiencing the horrors and tragedies of war the both Anderson and Junger faced, and the news media is still a controversial platform used