By SHRUTI RAO

“Hindi news channels are the worst in the world.”

“Hindi news channels are like the a-hole of the media, dude”.

I’m sure you’ve heard mutations of these statements and if I were to switch on my Realistic, some of you might endorse the view too. At the television news channel boom in my teenage years, I heard channels like Aaj Tak welcomed like there was a new baby in town. Everyone shook their metaphorical hands and said their congratulations. India had 24X7 news. India gave birth to a young ‘un. And here we are in 2009, a few years later, where everything (at least around me and my social circle) seems to be running desperately in a downward spiral.

So what happened between then and now? Why have we,  the educated elite, forsaken the child we welcomed only years ago?

If you don’t intend to read through this article, I’ll short circuit the “answer” and tell you first off, this article isn’t an answer to that question. The question that punctuates the end of the last paragraph is more student-research paper training than a “youth”ful post-adolescent answer to the whole world’s problems. I have never been able to answer that question, and perhaps haven’t found the need to. No one asked ME questions. I’m a student, at English Lit at that, so you’re almost trained to mouth “In life, there is no one answer” over and over when you’re caught in a quarry. But it interests me, this concept of the vigil. What breaks my heart is that we seem to have forgotten to keep a little hope and faith in our pockets, for the long run.

I’m not exactly a crusader for the Indian media. But I suppose I’m not prejudiced in that I’m indifferent to all equally. Hindi, English. Print remains my favourite though, because of the old school charm and “integrity” that I somehow have been conditioned into buying. But what I really want to see, is how we play this out. Will in two months, TheVigil have news spreads that are ONLY scathing in nature? Sometimes that is the need of the hour, agreed. Will it even strike any of us, that TheVigil, supposedly, for the record, deems to be a “public scrutiny” portal- but the findings of that scrutiny can be punished, but more importantly rewarded.

I think finally this article has a little focus- it’s a scrutiny of TheVigil. Because as much as I wish this concept works out, the fast-paced rating for every piece of news you want to rate — truly giving you the power – it has more chances to derail into a venomous, almost malicious name-calling caricature of what it set out to be. So far, the site hasn’t really seen a piece that has vociferously commended any piece of news. Do we need to take that important step back and wonder if we’re simply tuning ourselves to watch out for the horribly done, pasty faced news?

Hopefully, it doesn’t. Hopefully, in two months, TheVigil will have at least a few articles that commend SOMETHING even averagely well done in the media — any form. Not because the criticism isn’t helping, hey, the name-calling makes for some hilarious, witty articles! But sometimes, we need that little bit of hope and vested care to pull everyone aloft. The eventuality of TheVigil, I’m presuming, is to bring about a change.

All I’m saying is, I hope people don’t lose sight of the rarer good, in this cesspool of bad.It’s like a disease that your child has, and you refuse to acknowledge, treat or diagnose, and instead turn him to the corner and wonder why the hell there is a rotting smell in the room. You refuse to change his diapers. But you will call your friends, and point at that baby and say “Chee!”.

Administrator’s note:

Dear Shruti,

Thank you for your very valid criticism of TheVigil as it stands now. I am hoping that with more concerned consumers such as you participating in this venture, the bad-good balance is corrected to the extent possible. It’s not the purpose of TheVigil to whine all the time. Be that as it may, I sincerely hope News Television changes stripes to make our jobs easier than to find a parent who is unwilling to change their baby’s nappy. 

– B V Rao