K. M. Mathew

K. M. Mathew
K. M. Mathew
Born	(1917-01-02)2 January 1917 Alappuzha, Kerala
Died	1 August 2010(2010-08-01) (aged 93) Kottayam, Kerala
Known for	Chief Editor – Malayala Manorama
Spouse(s)	Annamma Mathew (m. 1942; d. 2003)

K. M. Mathew (Malayalam: കെ.എം.മാത്യു) (2 January 1917 – 1 August 2010) was a former Chief Editor of leading Malayalam daily Malayala Manorama.^[1][2][3][4]

He joined the newspaper as Managing Editor and general manager in 1954 and took office as the Chief Editor in 1973. Under his leadership, Malayala Manorama launched many publications such as the women's magazine Vanitha in Malayalam and Hindi, the weekly English magazine The Week, the farmer's magazine Karshakasree, the children's magazines Balarama, Kalikudukka in Malayalam and Magic Pot in English and the encyclopaedic Manorama Yearbook in Malayalam, English, Hindi, Tamil and Bengali.

Early life

He was born as the 8th among the nine children of K. C. Mammen Mappillai and Mammi (Kunjandamma of Modisseril family) at Kuppappuram in Alappuzha district. After completing his schooling from many schools including M.D.Seminary School, Kottayam and Leo XIII School, Alappuzha he joined CMS College Kottayam for learning history. Later, he completed his B.A Economics from the prestigious Madras Christian College. He married Annamma Mathew on 7 September 1942 at his house in Kuppapuram.

Career

K.M.Mathew started his career in 1940 as a planter in Chikmagalur where he joined his brother K.M.Jacob to take care of the family owned Bhadra Estate. He spent seven years in Chikmagalur estate. During this period, he opened a balloon manufacturing facility named Mysore Rubber Factory in the estate premises but the factory was soon closed due to the pollution it caused. The machinery at this factory was later transferred to Madras when his younger brother K. M. Mammen Mappillai started MRF Limited. In 1947, K. M. Mathew shifted to Bombay to start Allied Agencies.

After spending seven years in Bombay, K.M.Mathew moved to Kottayam and joined Malayala Manorama as the Managing Editor and general manager on 15 May 1954. Following the death of his elder brother and the then Chief-Editor K.M.Cherian on 14 March 1973, K.M.Mathew took office as the Chief Editor of Malayala Manorama, a position he held until his death on 1 August 2010. K.M.Mathew infused professionalism into Malayala Manorama's management with the help of world's leading consultants. Under K.M.Mathew's leadership, Malayala Manorama grew into 17 editions and crossed a circulation of more than 1.6 million copies.

K.M.Mathew has served in the following capabilities:

Chairman – Audit Bureau of Circulations(ABC) – (1970)

Chairman – Press Trust of India^[1] – (1979)

Chairman – Research Institute for Newspaper Development(RIND) – (1979)

President – Indian Newspaper Society

Founder trustee – Press Institute of India

Member – Press Council of India

Executive committee member – Federation of International Newspaper Publishers and Editors, France.

Awards

In 1998, the nation honoured K.M.Mathew with Padma Bhushan.^[5] He has received many other awards including Foundation of Freedom of Information Award (1991), National Citizen's award (1992), Ramakrishna Jay Dayal award (1995), Durga Prasad Chaudhary award (1996), Press Academy Award (1997) and B D Goenka Award (1996).

On his first death anniversary, India Post issued a commemorative postage stamp.^[6] At the Parliament House, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh received an album containing the stamp from Kapil Sibal, Union minister for communications and information technology. The five-rupee stamp had a print run of 300,000. The stamp, first day cover and cancellation were designed by Nenu Gupta.

Family

His wife Annamma Mathew (1922–2003) was a culinary expert and Chief Editor of Vanitha, who wrote under the name Mrs. K.M. Mathew. His book of memoirs, "Annamma" (based on his wife),^[7] was published by Penguin in Malayalam (2004) and in English (2005).

K.M.Mathew and Annamma Mathew have four children, Mammen Mathew, Philip Mathew, Jacob Mathew and Thankom Mammen.

Autobiography

His autobiography titled "Ettamathe Mothiram"^[8][9][10] (The Eighth Ring) was published in 2008.

Death

Though suffering from age-related ailments, Mathew continued to work and was active in social field until a few months before his death. Even after he stopped going to office, he continued to work as Chief Editor. He finally died on 1 August 2010 aged 93, after a long stint. He was buried the next day at New Orthodox Church near his home. His wife Annamma had predeceased him in 2003. He is survived by his children, children-in-law and grandchildren.

References