Malayala Manorama
Malayala Manorama
Malayala Manorama (Malayalam: മലയാള മനോരമ ) is a daily morning newspaper, in Malayalam language, published from Kottayam in the state of Kerala, India by Malayala Manorama Company Limited. It was very first published as a weekly on twenty two March 1890, and presently has a readership of over twenty million (with a circulation base of over Two.1 million copies). [Two] [Three] The Malayalam title “Manorama” toughly translates to “entertainer”. It is also the 2nd oldest newspaper in Kerala in circulation, after Deepika, which is also published from Kottayam.
According to World Association of Newspapers, as of 2011, it holds a position as the fifth most circulating newspaper in the world. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) two thousand thirteen figures, it is the third largest circulating newspapers in India (behind The Times of India and Dainik Jagran) and largest circulating newspaper in Kerala. [Four]
Contents
The Malayala Manorama Company is a private LLC corporation possessed by the Kandathil family of Kottayam. [Five] Malayala Manorama Company was incorporated by Kandathil Varghese Mappillai at Kottayam on fourteen March 1888. The company began with one hundred shares of Rs one hundred each. The investors paid in four equal instalments. With the very first instalment, the company brought a Hopkinson and Cope press, made in London. A local craftsman, Konthi Achari, was hired to make Malayalam types for the imported press.
Mappillai had worked for a year as editor of Kerala Mitram, a Malayalam newspaper run by Gujarati businessman Devji Bhimji, in Cochin. The maharajah of Travancore Moolam Thirunal approved the logo of the newspaper which was a slight modification of the Travancore Cover of Arms, which is now used by the Government of Kerala with slight modifications. [6]
Very first issue of Malayala Manorama published on twenty two March one thousand eight hundred ninety from M.D Seminary Kottayam, while Kottayam was hosting a popular cattle fair. It was a four-page weekly newspaper, published on Saturdays. The weekly newspaper became a bi-weekly in 1901, a tri-weekly on two July one thousand nine hundred eighteen and daily on two July 1928. [7] In 1938, Travancore state proscribed Malayala Manorama daily. Later editor K. C. Mammen Mappillai was convicted and imprisoned on charges of corruption and fraud. Malayala Manorama re-commenced regular publication in 1947.
On K.C. Mammen Mappilla’s death, his eldest son K.M. Cheriyan took over as the Editor-in-Chief in 1954. Malayala Manorama was produced in a single edition in the central Kerala town of Kottayam with a circulation of 28,666 copies. [8]
However, by the late 1950s, Manorama steadily enlargened circulation and overtook Mathrubhumi in circulation, the superior Malayalam daily at the time.
Expansion to entire Kerala (1960s) Edit
The fight inbetween Malayala Manorama (Kottayam) and Mathrubhumi (Calicut) demonstrated the compels that would drive the expansion of Indian regional newspapers. The contest also illustrated the difficulties if expansion had to rely on Gutenberg-style printing as with the case of Manorama. [9]
Comparison of circulation Malayala Manorama and Mathrubhumi (from India’s Newspaper Revolution (2000) by Robin Jeffrey, Western Influence on Malayalam Language and Literature (1972) by K. M. George and Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) 2013)
- Mathrubhumi
- Manorama
In 1962, Mathrubhoomi launched its 2nd edition in Kochi. The fresh edition sent Mathrubumi to a circulation of 170,000 copies by 1964, Nineteen,000 more than its rival, Malayala Manorama. With Mathrubhoomis circulation rising, it became a compulsion for Manorama to expand its reach, and consequently, introduce fresh technology. The competition set off a keen fight for more readers, quicker equipment and national advertising from major consumer goods companies [such as Hindustan Lever]. [8] Manorama launched its printing centre at Calicut, Malabar in one thousand nine hundred sixty six with a cast-off press from the paper’s base at Kottayam and hand-composed type. [Ten] But in the run-up to that event, it had installed an offset press at Kottayam and established a teleprinter line with Fresh Delhi in 1965.
By 1970, it was the leading daily in Kerala. The circulation of the newspaper rose from around 30,000 to 300,000 by this expansion to Malabar. [7] [11]
1980s Edit
K. M. Mathew, who took charge as editor in 1973, began a series of renovations, just as the Anandabazar Patrika did Bengal. He brought in a series of consultants in the management [1979], technical and editorial areas, and accepted their guidance. He conducted frequent training sessions for Manorama journalists and other employees. The company restructured their organisation in 1980. [12] KM Mathew said that the decision stemmed from the realisation that the daily had either to become “fully professional” or “risk decline”. Mathew sent his best journalists and managers to training schools around the world, and imported the most effective mechanisms in international journalism and newspaper production, which brought in a contemporary look and feel to Malayala Manorama. [8] In 1979, a fresh printing centre was launched at Cochin and in 1987, the Trivandrum edition was also launched. By 1998, the circulation of Malayala Manorama was enlargened to one million. In mid-2000s, the daily embarked units in the Middle East, focusing on the large Malayalee population in the region. Mathew is credited with the introduction of the concept of “editionalising” with larger share for local news and reader-friendly packaging through professional page designing in Manorama, which in turn impacted the entire newspaper industry in Kerala. By 2007, Manorama become the only regional language daily [non-English/non-Hindi] in India to cross 1. Five million copies in circulation. [13] [14]
K. M. Mathew was succeeded by his son Mammen Mathew in 2010. “In what could only be described as a rarity then in Indian language journalism, Mathew showcased an unusual commitment to modernisation and professionalism and became a role model for the newspaper industry, which in the early 1980s was at the critical juncture of embarking on a phase of unbelievable expansion.” The Hindu praised KM Mathew in their obituary. [8]
As per ABC January–June two thousand thirteen figures, Malayala Manorama holds a circulation of Two.1 million readers. [15]
