How business media covered the #SterliteProtest

For about two days now, protests against the Vedanta group’s Sterlite Copper smelter plant in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, have dominated headlines across major newspapers and TV news channels. So far, at least 11 people have died in incidents of police firing on protesters.

The mass protests had people coming together against Vedanta, which had allegedly flouted environmental laws in seeking permission for the expansion of its copper unit. The Madras High Court has now put a stay on the company’s expansion plans. While the court has directed the Centre to hold a public hearing before granting environment clearance to the copper plant, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has ordered its immediate closure. As matters stand now, the power supply to the unit has been disconnected since this morning.

Considering that one of the world’s largest mining and metals conglomerates is at the heart of the issue, one would expect thorough coverage by business papers. We looked at some of the reports in the financial press and news channels. While newspapers like Business Standard, Hindu BusinessLine and The Economic Times have reported on the issue prominently, The Mint did not deem it worthy of front-page space.

On May 23, Business Standard published a piece on its front page, titled: “Nine dead as protest against Sterlite turns violent.” Detailing Vedanta’s side of the story, the report includes a statement issued by the company. Speaking of the company’s troubles, the report also states, “Ever since the project went on stream, the company has been facing problems as agitators claim that the factory is causing harm to its employees.” However, the report doesn’t present the protesters’ point of view — so while the company gets to put its point across in the report, those against the plant have not been quoted at all.

The report also states that protesters were agitating over “pollution concerns and other issues”. It then goes on to add: “The protesters allegedly started attacking police personnel, burnt police vehicles and vandalised the collector’s office.” The report also states: “As the police could not control the mob, they resorted to firing.”

The paper’s front-page May 24 report, titled: “Expansion of Sterlite plant stayed; death toll reaches 12”, is also limited. Apart from briefly mentioning the death toll, the report focuses on the Madurai Bench’s decision. In this context, towards the end, it also briefly highlights claims of the petitioner, Fatima Babu. While the report mentions the dip in Vedanta’s shares, the report does not include comments from families of those killed in the police firing. There is, nevertheless, a brief interview on page 5 with Sterlite Copper CEO P Ramnath, who claims that “myths are being floated” about the company. Something he mentions during a CNBC-TV18 interview as well.

Next to the interview is another report on “Why Tuticorin is different from other agitations.” While this report states the reason “residents” have been agitating, this, too, fails to quote those protesting.   

Business Standard’s web edition on May 24 had another piece, “Thoothukudi protest: How NDA govt decisions helped Vedanta bypass norms.” This report points to the loophole that allowed “Vedanta and several others to start constructing their plants…without public consultations” — one of the issues pointed out by petitioner Fatima Babu.

The  Hindu BusinessLine front page on May 24 was titled: “Madras HC halts construction of Sterlite’s second unit.”  While the report details Babu’s contentions in her petition, it falls short of any direct quote from her or other protesters.

BusinessLine’s May 24 editorial, “An Avoidable Tragedy” argues that “timely and decisive action by the authorities could have prevented the situation in Thoothukudi from going out of control.”

Over at Mint, the story received no mention on the front page. On May 23, Mint carried a report titled: “Sterlite turns violent in TN, 11 killed in police firing” on page 19, along with a standalone photo on page 20. Whereas on May 24, the paper had a report on page 20 and an opinion piece on page 19. The former report includes a quote from one of the protesters, “Who gave them (police) permission to shoot people above the knee.” Commenting on the “Sterlite fracas”, the page 19 piece stated that “companies can’t ignore human rights”.

The Economic Times, on the other hand on May 24, had on its front page a report titled, “HC halts expansion of TN Sterlite Plant” and another titled “Unity of pressure groups built anti-Sterlite mood” on page 17 under its “Company & Economy” section. Both reports do not mention the NHRC’s notice, comments or views from the organisers as well as those who fell victim to the police’s open fire. Though, the latter does have comments from petitioner Fatima Babu, following whose PIL the court had issued a stay on Sterlite’s expansion.

The second report also mentions the “alarming precision” with which the protesters were moving towards the District Collector’s officer “allegedly with a two-pronged assault plan of torching vehicles and pelting stones at the glass walls”.

In its May 24 editorial, “Pollution not an externality, Vedanta” the paper argues that the killing of so many people in southern Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi was a “failure of policy, failure of policing, failure of politics” and reflected “corporate disregard for the environment and laws that regulate the impact of human action on nature”.

As for the Financial Express, it carried on its front page a single column that was tucked at the bottom corner. The report (which has May 23 dateline) is titled: “HC stays Sterlite smelter expansion.” Back on page 6, the paper has two reports both primarily on what Vedanta has to say.

As far as TV business news was concerned, we checked out the coverage done by ET Now, CNBC and Zee Business. This report is based on the content uploaded on their official YouTube channels. While NDTV Profit last updated their channel 11 months ago, Newslaundry could not find any reportage pertaining to the Sterlite protest on Zee Business’ YouTube channel.

Apart from a 7-minute news package titled: “Tuticorn Turmoil: Madras HC Stays Expansion Of Sterlite Plant”, ET Now also had 4-minute ‘exclusive’ news package, “Vedanta On Tuticorin Unrest.” While in the former demands of the families of those killed is briefly highlighted, the latter, as suggested in the head, was Vedanta’s side of the story.

CNBC-TV18’s report, “Tuticorin Trouble, Sterlite Storm: Sterlite Copper CEO’s First TV Interview” gives a historical background of the protests. However, what’s problematic with this debate is the host’s opening questioning. Speaking to Sterlite’s CEO, the anchor says, “Law and order is not your responsibility sir” before she goes on to ask him what to his mind was the “trigger” for these protests turning violent. The question was used by Ramnath to discredit the protesters. According to him, the protesters had “no reason” to take to the streets. “I don’t think there was no [any] reason for this kind of protest. Various myths are being propagated that are not true at all,” he can be heard saying. Thankfully, this was not reflective of the rest of the questions.

Inputs by Parikshit Sanyal.