Ratan Tata, media and my misgivings

Ratan Tata I am sure had no role to play in the scuffle that broke out between Bombay House security and media persons. But, I have had a long lasting crib about RT and his attitude towards media. I do not know him, nor can I claim to have interacted with him. In many years that I have been a business journalist, I have had opportunity to cover several of Tata firms’ Annual General Meetings RT chaired, industry events, though I can’t recollect many press conferences.

There is however, one press conference of RT that I would never forget, though specifics of the event have faded from memory with years gone by …. That was a press conference, I think a Tata Tele press conference in 2001-02. What I distinctly remember though was the venue and the shocking way the media was handled – the Crystal rooms at the Taj Mahal, Mumbai. If my memory is right, it was a Tata – VSNL stake announcement with Pramod Mahajan participating in it as the then Telecom minister.

There weren’t many television channels like now, but there were quite a few who would still be chasing RT. Rushing to the dais, or chasing the celebrity for a few sound bytes is not a rarity, then or now. It was no different that day. I was at that time working with a small company, producing news videos for a web portal. So, I was one among the journalists trying to chase RT. We were caught a little off guard that day. We couldn’t leave the room. We found ourselves locked inside, so that RT could walk out on the corridor without being disturbed by the paparazzi. We were not sure if RT was giving some exclusive interviews to select few in adjoining room.

To my knowledge that was the debut of Vaishnavi as Tata’s PR. Till that time we had not heard of either Niira Radia or Vaishnavi. Some of us journalists were chatting among ourselves trying to figure what is this Vaishnavi and how come Tatas have an unheard of name as their group PR overnight. Like the crude Tamil phrase, “adhellaam periya idathu Vishayam” beyond the scope of beat reporters to figure out.

If I can take refuge in the cliché, first experience is the best experience …. that experience with what Vaishnavi was continued. I was lucky not to have been a corporate reporter, and so didn’t have to interact with Vaishnavi and I am one of the many ordinary reporters who has never seen or met Radia. Some of the Tata group press conferences I attended while Vaishnavi handled their PR was also strange. PRs always are curious to know who you are, get your phone number, mail id etc., But, at Tata press conferences, Vaishnavi employees would not even bother to exchange cards. I found an answer for that behavior later when Radia tapes came out.

It is not that Vaishnavi was the first and last point of my crib about RT’s attitude towards journalists. He personally showed how he viewed journalists who he thought were against him. In the 90s when he was fighting to assert his power over the group and was working hard to overthrow one of the satraps, Ajit Kerkar from Indian Hotels, it appeared unlike Darbari Seth or Russi Mody, Kerkar didn’t give up without some fight. Some in the media I presume were supportive of Kerkar’s role in running Indian Hotels.

Two of us with television channels tried to door stop RT early morning on the day of crucial AGM of Indian Hotels. RT was inaugurating a Federal Bank branch opposite Bombay House. There was no hope of getting any bytes from. It was going to be a long day and very frustrating for television journalists, no sound byte from RT, no entry possible at AGM and no way of access to Kerkar. I had left the crew out on the streets and was attending the AGM. A crowded Birla Matoshree, and I was standing on the aisles, and trying to take notes. 

There was some question from shareholders about media reports on the issue of evicting Kerkar. RT was naturally angry, but what he said was beyond shocking to us. He said something like, journalists wine and dine with people and write something, and that is not to be taken note of ….. what we write are all an outcome of dining and wining with various people? 

We were stunned. It was not a press conference, we cannot even counter RT. Fortunately for us, one of the journalists, who also happened to be a shareholder working for an international newswire quickly registered herself as a speaker. She got a chance to speak, and registered her objection to RT painting all journalists in poor light.

That sealed my opinion on RT, for one never expected head of Tatas, the most respected and top business house of the country to speak ill of journalists in those terms. If he had any specific objections to stories, he could have pointed out, quoted from that at the AGM. Why did he think of journalists as people who are bought to write something – is that what he did later creating Vaishnavi when he found media was cold shouldering Tatas, or Tatas were losing in the telecom war to rivals and needed to build bridges with media?

Few days before the ouster of Cyrus Mistry, RT had talked about “intolerance” – how tolerant were you Mr. Tata. You couldn’t take media reports for what they were and had to cast aspersions on people who wrote them. Later one heard stories of how RT would ban Bennet Coleman for writing a lead story in one of its publication that his half brother Noel Tata may succeed him. Did you for years stop all advertisements to Bennet Coleman? How tolerant was that Mr.Tata? To me that was the first time a open threat to media was thrown by a large conglomerate, "write anything against us, we won’t give you ads". You made it a point to show how media can be pressurized. You didn’t set the right precedent.

RT and Tatas must be so fortunate that even after Radia tapes, they still have credibility. We had a personal episode years after Radia tapes, that left a bitter taste of what Tatas have become when one of our friends committed suicide apparently due to harassment faced from the company he worked for, Tata Steel.

Where do I stand in the case of RT vs CM some friends asked. I do not know CM, never even seen him in person or covered any of the companies, events. So, I have no view on whether he is competent, whether RT was right in sacking CM. But, as someone who had covered SEBI, stock markets, can see the utter disrespect to corporate governance and shareholder rights in the way RT sacked CM.

Finally, after long years of the way RT treated media, today it culminated in a street fight, physical attack on journalists.

P.S – this is written from memory, not from my notes. In case any of my journalist friends from that era can recollect, add to details or clarify on any mistakes made, please let me know.