Call it a victory of sorts. The New York Times published a story on the blockade being made by protestors of the Keystone XL pipeline currently being installed in Texas, U.S.
Protestors including the group Tar Sands Blockade and the owners of land and farms on the route of the pipeline have been attempting to block the bulldozers of foreign company, TransCanada.
Mainstream media missing
The Times chose to run a story with a photo on the front page, October 12. Apart from the arrest of the American actress Daryl Hannah recently at the site, which mainstream media briefly covered, there is been little in the way of serious coverage from major newspapers, TV or other outlets. The mainstream media, to borrow a term from the military, is AWOL.
Oct. 4, the actress Hannah was arrested alongside a local landowner, Eleanor Fairchild, 78, after they blocked heavy equipment clearing a path through Ms. Fairchild’s property. Her arrest sparked some interest.
A week ago freelance journalists, Elizabeth Arce and Lorenzo Serna, climbed up the timber scaffolding at the tree blockade to help document the story. They were arrested, spent the night in jail, and were released without charge. From accounts, it appears men hired by TransCanada were the ones who made the arrests – off-duty policemen, paid by the company.
The Times story, written by Dan Frosch with photos by Brandon Thibodeaux, is a measured account of the standoff. It includes views from the protestors and also a TransCanada spokesperson about the pipeline.
Having the Times turn up was important.
The Tar Sands Blockade group responded with a post on their website:
“We’re encouraged to see this article published despite TransCanada’s ongoing repression of free press access to our peaceful protest. Including the handcuffing and detainment of the Times reporter, Dan Frosch, who was reporting on this story while standing off of the pipeline easement on private property.”
Needed boost
The group said they were encouraged by the attention shown by the Times:
“Right now there is a huge crowd at our Direct Action Training Camp in East Texas that erupted in applause at the announcement of the Times front page coverage. This is tremendous momentum for our grassroots campaign and we intend to continue to build a movement powerful enough to stop the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline for good.”
Crackdown on journalists
As news site Democracy Now pointed out, there has been a crackdown on journalists and attempts to keep them away from the site.
The tar sands pipeline protest is important. Many landowners and “green” activists have been protesting for a long time against the project. But until now, the mainstream media has shown little interest.
This is just one of many actions by activists around the United States to protect the environment, their communities, and their health in the face of a host of environmental damage being carried out by oil and gas companies.
If the New York Times shows up, it helps.
Check out the New York Times story.
