How proactive has the Indian media been in covering news at the grassroot level?

Bahal:  I can say that at least television has not been so successful so far. Except when they are covering some tragedy of some sort, I don’t see them making a mark. And this fact has to do with the skewed way our TRP meters are spread in the country. They are nearly all in urban high spending metropolises where the advertisers want them.

Bahal: By definition, any citizen of India can be a journalist or at least provide input in reporting in some form. In fact, our constitution doesn't give any special rights to media or journalists under Article 19. Freedom of expression as a right is available to all citizens. So it all depends on who comes forward to use the right properly.

Do you see bloggers coming forward to play a greater role in news generation in India?

Bahal: They already are helping out. We have seen bloggers creating a mark when it comes to generating news, information, views and opinion.

Traditional Journalism vs Citizen Journalism – what’s your take?

Bahal: I don’t believe in citizen journalism without filters. There is a lot to be said about the editorial process. The commissioning of stories, the editorial filtration, and a strong desk etc. Without that process citizen journalism would be deficient and ill served. The two are complimentary. The ideal situation would be for a lot of concerned citizenry sending their stories to a mainstream organization where the editorial processes are followed.

Do you think the common man coming forward in gathering news makes the media scenario more democratic? Or does it lead to more chaos and confusion?

Bahal: I would say it makes the news arena more in-depth. A journalist can be everywhere. For example, if a citizen captures some video footage of some police atrocity it could land up at a television desk and could be national news very fast.