[8] While We Watched explores the changes in contemporary Indian mainstream media over the previous decade, through profiling Ravish Kumar, senior executive editor at NDTV, at work in the studio and with his subjects.

[10] It contrasts the coverage by Kumar with that of competing television channels whose anchors are shown hyperbolically conflating criticism of the government's policies with treason and going on diatribes against alleged internal and external enemies of India.

[2] It also covers the threats of violence against the NDTV news team, and the financial troubles plaguing media houses that are seen as critics of the BJP, the ruling party in India.

Raids by tax authorities, dwindling government advertising revenue, banks refusing to provide loans and threats of violence and even arrest have led to many journalists leaving.

[18] Christopher Cross in Tilt Magazine notes[19] that as the documentary is "[e]dited to keep everything at a breakneck pace and set over a small period of time, Shukla magnifies the rapid rate with which dissent and opposition can be dismantled when those in power feel threatened."

Courtney Small in That Shelf says "A riveting work that will have you mourning the slow death of journalism, While We Watched is an urgent reminder that we all have much to lose if we can no longer tell fact from fiction.

"[20] Stephen Saito in The Moveable Feast, while pointing out "If While We Watched has a flaw, it isn't one of its own making when the story it tells has become unfortunately all too common around the world", concludes that "Shukla nimbly shows how interconnected these issues (business and political headwinds) all are... when signs of encouragement are few and far between... and the end product suffers as a result, no longer able to hold power to account.

"[21] Pat Mullen in POV Magazine believes that "While We Watched smartly captures the state of contemporary news media with a powerful character study of one reporter's unshakable quest to speak the truth."