ADVOCACY JOURNALISM: CASE STUDY ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN THADAGAM VALLEY, COIMBATORE

Journalists involved in environmental communication go beyond facts and figures to highlight their views on issues of conflict between man and nature. Propelled by the fluidic social media with audience as news makers, their advocacy sails into journalism rather than sticking to the basics of objectivity. Online media, once considered as clicktivism and impulsive , has evolved into a major mobilising force to fight against environmental degradation. Yet, it lacks the trust that traditional media upholds in India. Illegal mining of rich soil in the agricultural fields of Thadagam Valley in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu snowballed into an issue of exploitation of natural resource after South Zone’s National Green Tribunal registered a suo motto case against the clay brick manufacturers in 2021. Closure of the brick factories for over two years through interim orders of the courts was perceived as a big victory for the impleading activists. Advocacy campaigns run by the activists in the traditional and new media keep the cash rich business run for legal cover to restore their operations. At the same time, in-direct and external support from informed sources sustained the activists move further in their fight against pollution of environment and exploitation of natural resources. Wild elephants intruding into farmlands and villages also became an unbearable issue for the inhabitants as the regular paths also got disturbed by the dangerous developments created in the Valley. Influence of political economy, the difference in perspectives between the local and national media over an environmental issue, the stand of political and bureaucratic circles on development , episodic versus thematic coverage in the media, scientific and research back-ups on the issues communicated by the activists are discussed in this conflict-based campaign.


INTRODUCTION
Thadagam Valley in Coimbatore lies in the eastern lap of Western Ghats, adjoining the area which hosts the largest Asian elephant population in the world Rangarajan (2013). The northern part of Western Ghats inclusive of The Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve (NBR) comprising the Protected Areas (PA) of Mudumalai, Bandipur, Nagarhole, Kabini, Biligiri Rangan hills, Wayanad, Silent Valley along with Brahmagiri hills contains a large population of wild elephants, ca, 6000 animals Puyravaud et al. (2022). These areas are linked to Sathyamangalam of Eastern Ghats through Coimbatore Elephant Reserve.
Thadagam Reserve Forest is also a key link for the pachyderms travelling from west to east in the months of October to February. Sivaganesan (2021), formerly a researcher with Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) found that forest areas in Coimbatore district witness an influx of elephants from October every year. Various factors including grass phenology, availability of perennial water sources and green cover which is ideal for calving triggers this seasonal movement is his view.
Thadagam Valley in the news for the past two years for two different reasons. The prime issue is the legal tangle about the exploitation of natural resources by brick factories. Second is the intrusion of wild elephants from the neighbouring forests which includes the adjoining Anamalai, Mudumalai, Sathyamangalam and Silent Valley PA's. This horseshoe shaped valley serves key transit points for the migrating animals. Activists project a connectivity between the two issues Shanthala (2022) by blaming the unauthorised and unregulated mining firms.
What was once an unaccounted production, the clay brick manufacturing grew up as a big business because of the burgeoning developmental activities happening in and around Coimbatore. Activists under the banner of Thadagam Valley Protection Committee raised the mining issues in the media. They even approached the High Court of Tamil Nadu, at Chennai. Things moved fast when the South Zone's National Green Tribunal (NGT) at Chennai registered a suo motto case on this issue after observing the news coverage in a popular Tamil daily Dinamalar's Chennai edition coverage.
The tribunal ordered the closure of the 177 units from 2021 citing them as unauthorised and illegal. Every hearing on the above issue was keenly contested by both the sides. Brick factories had a better support from almost all the major political parties and elected village panchayat leaders in the valley Dinamani (2022). Majority of the villagers too supported them for the economic prosperity the industry had offered. Yet, activists kept gathering information from judicial orders, Right to Information Act, field reports and strengthened their prayers. Despite being attacked by angry mobs Thadagam Police Station (2020) in the past three years, activists continued their legal battle in Chennai courts.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study on the media projection of excessive mining and elephant intrusion issues in Thadagam Valley is termed as an Advocacy Journalism process because of its narrative content dealing beyond the objectivity factor.
This research shall be classified as an application-based work from the perspective of application. According to Kumar (2019), applied research is one where research techniques, procedures, and methods that form the body of research methodology are applied to collect information about various aspects of a situation, issue, problem, or phenomenon so that the information gathered can be utilised for other purposes such as policy formulation and program development. This is a qualitative research based on the perspective of the Enquiry model employed. This study follows an open, flexible, and unstructured approach to enquiry and aims to explore the diversity, rather than quantifying it. It narrates the feelings, perceptions, and experiences rather than measuring them.
This research shall also be classified as a Descriptive study based on the Objectives perspective. This study attempts to describe systematically a situation, problem, phenomenon, program and describes the attitudes towards an issue.
The impact of solving the issues caused by mining industry and wild elephants' intrusion through environmental communication shall be considered as the main objective of this research work. Both primary and secondary data are used as key research instruments. Literature pertinent to the study was collected from both universal or general and site specific or local information.
People and Problems are given more focus as major sources of research problems in this study. The research probe starts with mindless mining by the brick factories and travels through exploitation of natural resources and pollution of the environment. Later it deals with the troubles faced by the inhabitants of the valleyboth humans and elephants. Media coverage on the issue, working from conflict to co-existence comes next. At the end it tries to offer suggestions to improve the environmental communication procedures. Such reformulation procedures during data collection are typical of Qualitative research deploying an inductive reasoning.
The researcher has also adapted Participant Observation strategies by conducting physical meetings and navigating agendas in conventional and contemporary media in narrative and descriptive forms. Community discussion forums were also initiated through local and social media. To reduce the gap between the researcher and research participants, participatory research and collaborative enquiries were made as a part of Action research.
This work can be classified as a Case study because of "its approach in which a particular instance or few carefully selected cases are studied intensively" Gilbert (2008). This explores an area to have a holistic understanding of the situation, phenomenon, episode, site, group, or community. The proceedings on Thadagam Valley in the Chennai courts are keenly followed by all quarries in Tamil Nadu as the rules and regulations are clearly analysed now. Hence it can be cited as a case study for regulating most of the quarries in Tamil Nadu.

ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNICATION
Environmental Communication refers to the study and practice of how individuals, institutions, societies, and cultures craft, distribute, receive, understand, and use messages about the environment and human interactions with it Sudhir (2021).
This communication has a wider interaction from inter-personal communication to virtual communication aided by participatory approach. Sudhir also mentions Environmental Journalism as an advocate's beat and journalism with a purpose.
According to Robert Cox, Environmental Communication is composed of seven major areas of study and practices like Environmental rhetoric and discourse, Media and environmental journalism, public participation in environmental decision making, social marketing and advocacy campaigns, Environmental collaboration and conflict resolution, Risk communication and Representations of nature in popular culture and green marketing.
Advocacy in Environmental Communication: Poornananda (2022, 1) defines advocacy in journalism as a combination of activism and professionalism that goes beyond reporting by pushing narrative in a perspective. Though the activists involved in the legal battle are not professionals of any specific kind, they established contacts with local media and then the national media. They exposed the misdeeds of mining in the local language newspapers initially. Later they sent images and videos of plundered earth to Television and Online channels which obtained a massive spread. Later, they themselves became the news makers by effectively using the alternative media, in the form of What's App, You Tube and Facebook groups. Information gathered from the field were organised in social media and forwarded to the journalists.
Activists kept the residents and journalists engaged about the issue in the context of problem solving. Though advocacy journalism is not a big force in mainstream media, journalists covering the forests, wildlife and revenue beats were offered news items on violations made while mining, transporting soil to factories, baking and again transporting to the construction sites. Incidents of elephants getting electrocuted, rolling down in the deep craters created by mining industries were also reported to the media.
According to Tuchman (1972) the word objectivity used by journalists can only be a strategic ritual for protecting themselves from mistakes as well as critics. Gitlin (1980) even termed it as a separation of fact from value. The young and educated journalists of Coimbatore responded well to the call of activists and came out of objectivity. Unlike the scientists guided by theories, these journalists used the guidance of reality and observation, lending a hand to advocacy. Leo Saldhania (2020), an environmentalist from Bengaluru supports advocacy because it goes beyond reporting, into the depth of the issue. The activists brought the issue of environmental pollution and exploitation of natural resources as key factors so that advocacy gets the respect of a problem-solving task.
While the powerful and rich own the media in India, it has become easy for the politicians to propagate their agenda through them. This against creates a challenge for the dissent to find space in news. Most of the local language newspapers reported in favour of brick kilns citing job loss for labours and life source for the factory owners. Representatives from key political parties like Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Activists used their own social media accounts in Facebook and What's App to question the highhandedness of the industrialists in a method equivalent to Trolley Times, a newsletter published at New Delhi during the farmers struggle in 2019 & 2020. Initially the brick factory supporters were targeting the activists by "othering" them with negative characters and labels in their social media networks Singh & Sinha (2023). "Othering" is a practice of excluding a group of people from larger social group, often to make possible the discrimination and harassment of the group Spivak (1985). In turn, the activists used their online channels as a radical media to share their perspectives and encourage a debate in a broader spectrum. Downing (1984) has coined the term radical media as small-scale outlets that present alternative views on dominant policies and perspectives. In a way it helped them to overcome the challenge posed by the established media in the initial days in offering a counter discourse as perceived by Atton (2002).
A native reporting approach was initiated by the activists in allowing any dissent voice to raise the issue in their groups and forums. Members of the group submitted memes, photos and videos of the excesses committed in mining. This had a greater reach than what was propagated by the industrialists in the conventional media, in the form of advertisements as rejoinders. This was almost a similar form of native reporting as observed in the Delhi farmers agitation.
Usage of visuals as dominant displays by the activists was in the lines of Eye tracking studies proposed by Garcia & Stark (1991). In fact, one such campaign in the popular Tamil daily Dinamalar grasped the attention of National Green Tribunal at Chennai resulting in a suo motto case. Further, every hearing in the court brought pressure on the illegal factories and the proceedings were conveyed to the residents of the valley by activists. This kept them to obtain a professional status in contesting such issues against the rich and power.
Ethnography: Ethnography is a strategy of enquiry in which the researcher studies an intact cultural group in a natural setting over a prolonged period by collecting observational and interview data. The researcher was born and brought up in Thadagam Valley. He has converted his inherited farmland into an Organic farm with certification from Tamil Nadu Organic Certification Department (TNOCD) from 2017.
His experience as a journalist in that area helped him to learn things from the past and present in an efficient manner. Even his farmlands got frequently disfigured by wild elephants. Researchers' exposure to nature, wildlife and environmental issues as a trekker, photographer, journalist, farmer, researcher and as a member in forest related Non-Governmental Organisation ( Researcher is a part of the active What's App groups like Ani Nizharkaadu, Thadam Kovai Kuzhu which discuss the Thadagam Valley issues on mining and elephant's intrusions in detail. The researcher even organised a farmers meet in the village of Pannimadai to assess the thoughts of farmers on Elephants intrusion. Suggestions evolved from this meeting held on November 20, 2022, were passed to the higher officials of the State and Central Governments. It was interesting to find one farmers' association asking farmers to boycott elections as their politicians have failed to save their crops from elephants and other wild animals like boars, leopards, deer's, pea fowls, bears, gaurs etc., Another association issued a statement saying that elephants do not have any regular routes in Thadagam Valley. On the contrary, elephants' intrusion remained at an all-time high in the valley from October 2022 to February 2023. Damage to the crops also remained very high. Two human lives were lost in the Valley and over half a dozen of elephants lost their lives in and around the Valley in the initial months of 2023. Three to four incidents of crop raiding by the wild elephants were reported in the What's App group, Thadam -CIN every day. This group is administered by the Forest Department of Tamil Nadu as a mitigation process.
Agenda setting and Spiral of Silence: Agenda Setting, Spiral of Silence and Framing theories provide a broad background for this research which deals with issues related to environment and media.
The idea of Agenda Setting started with Walter Lipmann's book Public Opinion (1922). Lipmann explained that media acted as a bridge between the outside world and pictures in the minds of readers. In this mining issue, activists keep on bombarding negative effects of mining and air pollution in the media while brick factory owners keep on pressing about job loss for thousands of workers and price rise in input costs for the housing sector. Hence the sustenance v/s development debate continues in this case too. Cohen (1963) developed this concept into a theory by saying "Press may not successful much of the time in telling people what to think about but is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about". Here the attitudes and opinions of the readers are shaped.
Combs & Shaw went further to say that media plays a significant role in shaping political reality. Public agenda is influenced by the media resulting in an impact over policy agenda. Even in this mining issue, many rules and regulations were overlooked to cut the cost of production. Ever since brick factories were ordered for a closure, the rules and regulations were getting changed. Quarrying limit from the forest land The Hindu (2023), distance between two brick kilns, distance between brick kilns and orchards/human habitations were reduced Member Secretary (2023) Activists complain that these changes were made based on the alleged lobbying done by industrial powers.
After Agenda Setting, Erving Goffman (1974) coined the term framing, which said about media constructing a social reality. Entman (1993) added that media frames happen through selection, emphasis, exclusion, interpretation, evaluation, and treatment.

DISCUSSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
Poornananda (2022, 2) is of the view that environmental issues are framed differently, depending on the political and ideological orientation of the media. He further tells that advertisers, investors, pressure groups and governmental agencies exert considerable influence on Agenda Setting in the media. His statement is reflected in the mining issue in the way of some local reporters and local newspapers giving importance to the statements of factory owners. Those reporters and newspapers received advertisements offered by the industrial sources.
Brick manufacturers association did not compromise business for political ideology. Whenever there was a change in the State Government, local politicians from the ruling party adorned its headship. This helped in lobbying with Govt. officials to overcome problems with rules, regulations, and policy matters. Few of the local political leaders involved in bricks business changed gears from ADMK to DMK in 2023.
Another key observation in this issue is lack of support from the established and bigger Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO's) to the local activists. Most of them maintained silence on the issue. Even the farmers associations did not raise any issue of loss of topsoil which is the most important base for agriculture. On the contrary, one of the farmers' associations issued a statement saying that "Elephants do not have any regular path in Coimbatore District" Dinamalar (2023) when wild elephants' intrusion was at its peak in Thadagam Valley.
Brick factories established in Thadagam Valley come under Thadagam, Veerapandi, Nanjundapuram, Pannimadai, and Somayampalayam panchayats of Thudialur area in Coimbatore North Taluk. All the panchayat presidents had a better link with brick factories or with real estate concerns. Hence, they stood with the development concept. Panchayat council members too supported the factories in Gram Sabha meetings, passing resolutions in support of brick factories. Almost all the active political parties in the area, including Communist parties supported the functioning of the factories. This percolated well with majority of residents, and they too opted for factories. Though Ganeshan and Shanthala. R who were in the forefront of battle against brick industries won Brave Citizens/ Hopeful Youngsters accolades from popular print media houses like The Bennet and Coleman Group (The Times of India) and Vikatan Publications (Aval Vikatan) majority of the commons remained either tight lipped or supported the functioning of brick factories. The fear of getting isolated in a village community had made the commons think and act in support of the majority. This concept can be easily related to Spiral of Silence theory proposed by Elizabeth Noelle Newman.
The villagers too were kept in active engagement by the power circles with sponsors for local youth sports clubs which conducted Volleyball and Kabaddi tournaments. Temple festivals and functions were conducted in the valley villages with pomp and show, thanks to the sponsors offered by the industrialists. Ironically, a temple land encroached by a brick kiln was relieved by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR & CE) Board in 2022 The Hindu (2022, 2) after the activists raised an issue about it. But acts of 'goodwill' measures undertaken by the factory owners had earned a higher reputation for the industrial community.
NGT appointed Committee under the coordination of District Collector of Coimbatore had submitted a report that 1.10 crore cubic meters of brick earth has been mined in the five villages of Thadagam Valley The Hindu (2022, 3). The committee recommended a levy of Rs.433 crores on the 177 brick kilns that functioned illegally.
NGT had even blamed the officials being perceived by people as 'turning a Nelson eye' towards the illegal operations of brick kilns Hon'ble Chief Justice (2021). Madras High Court has even summoned the State Commissioner of Geology & Mines to appear in the court for permitting transportation of bricks from the sealed units Hon'ble Judges (2023). The Bench had warned Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) of initiating contempt proceedings if it failed to submit a detailed report on the action taken against brick kilns The Hindu (2023, 4). The Bench even told "We are prima facie satisfied that the very report does not reflect the affairs or otherwise the same indicate that there is clear clout of Pollution Control Boards officials with the violators". The judges had also decided to conduct a physical inspection besides carrying out a Drone survey of Thadagam Valley and other areas in Coimbatore district to assess the damage caused to the places by illegal brick kilns The Hindu (2023, 5).
Desai (2019), Vice President for International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on Asian Elephants had mentioned in his report to Coimbatore Forest Division that there is a need to regulate the brick kilns in Thadagam Valley in terms of their permission, pollution, and extraction of water as they all have an impact on the forest, wildlife, and local people. Two habitual crop raiders, nick named as Vinayagan and Chinna thambi by the villagers were translocated from Thadagam Valley to the elephant camps of Anamallai based on the field survey done by Ajay Desai in 2019.
Advocacy Journalism, according to International Federation of Environmental Journalists (IFEJ) founder president Detjen (1991), if becomes one side and unfair would become mis guided and in the long run would even turn counterproductive. The Thadagam Valley Protection Committee had stopped the functioning of illegal industries for two years with the help from courts, but not from the commons. With relaxations in the rules and regulations coming into the rescue of quarrying industry, sustenance of legal activities without the participation of majority public casts a big shadow over the fighting minority activists. Acharya (2020) believes that doing research and placing facts before the people are more important than advocating a cause. Yet, Poornananda (2022, 3) is of the view that reporting is making reports based on facts, but journalism goes beyond facts and digging deeper inside the news. But how long, these handful of journalists will support the minority activists is an issue of concern. Pandurang Hegde (2020), leader of Appiko movement in Karnataka is of the opinion that a strict neutrality cannot be maintained in environmental journalism. Sometimes journalists might even join civil society groups if they find the issue alarming. Here objectivity might go for a toss. But in Thadagam Valley issue, not many journalists showed interest in joining civil society groups. They did their job, reporting truth and values. National Human Rights Commission had issued an advisory to Central and State Governments of India about minimising pollution as India is facing ecological degradation which hinders basic human rights The Hindu (2022, 6). This is a serious concern as much about the pollution arising from bricks and mining industry is yet to be analysed in the courts. While human rights get affected because of pollution, the issue is likely to snowball further. Srimathy (2022) of the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court invoked the parens patriae jurisdiction and declared 'Mother Nature' as a living being having the status of a legal entity with all corresponding rights, duties, and liabilities of a living person, in order to preserve and conserve it.
Though the judgement was delivered for a different case, such strictures are likely to have a binding on the erring administrative system, which might lead to better support for nature and wildlife.
Newman (2023) is of the view that "The next few years will not be determined by our speed of adoption to digital technologies, but how rapidly we transform our content to the rapidly changing audience expectations". Industrialists with deep pockets might adapt easily to the above-mentioned digital needs by deploying efficient workers, but can the activists gain strength to do them with their limited resources and poor political support is a question which time only can answer. The activists say that they are determined to travel further by citing Article 51 A of the Indian Constitution which says, "It is the duty of every citizen of India to protect and improve the natural environment including wildlife".