We believe that over the past decade , the Indian Media, especially television and cable channels, have had a very positive impact on society. They have informed the public about matters of importance, they have exposed corruption in high places, and they have covered events in sports, politics, and others like never before.

The Indian public is better informed and better entertained than when the only option available came from what Doordarshan dished out or from the morning newspapers. With television, the news cycles have been compressed to the extent that today’s news is stale by the time the morning newspapers are out.

Yet, with all that has gone right with the Indian News Media, one has to wonder at the missed opportunities. The profusion of channels should have meant a quality upgrade of news that would match the best in the world. That is not how things have worked. After the promise of the initial years, television news is plumbing new depths each day.

A good, strong, sensible, reliable and responsible television news medium would have forced print to shake out of its collective “dumbing down” phenomenon of the past two decades. That has not happened either.

Governments should not be allowed to set standards for news content and news media will not set its own standards for self-regulation. As a result, the biggest stakeholder in the existence, growth and survival of a free media, THE PUBLIC, has to suffer what it gets in the name of content.

Time to attempt to change that. http://thevigil.in is our attempt to bring public pressure on the Indian Media to keep them on their toes and true to the profession.

Come join us in this journey.