(Last Updated on : 22/02/2014)
Malayalam language newspapers are widely circulated in the southern region of the country. Malayalam language is one of the most widely spoken languages in South India. Malayalam language newspapers have a rich history of more than 120 years and they are mainly published from the major cities like Kozhikode
, Malappuram, etc. The Malayalam language newspapers are published in different editions - morning, afternoon and evening editions and these include local, national and international news for the Malayalam speaking people. One of the first Malayalam language newspapers was Deepika
. Started on 15th April, 1887, Deepika propagated the ideas of patriotism and encouraged the people to fight against British rulers. It shifted ownership from the Syro Malabar Church, Kerala
, to Rashtra Deepika Ltd in 1989. The newspaper is published from Kochi, Kannur, Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Kozhikode and Thrissur. Malayala Manorama
is another old newspaper published in Malayalam language and it started its journey only a year after Deepika. First published in 1988, Malayala Manorama has established itself as one of the most credible newspapers in Kerala. In 2007, Malayala Manorama crossed 15 lac copies mark, becoming the only regional newspaper to do so.
After Deepika and Malaya Manorama, many more Malayalam language newspapers came into existence during the earlier half of the twentieth century. These newspapers include Kerala Kaumudi (1911), Mathrubhumi
(1923), Chandrika (1934), Desabhimani (1942), Janmabhumi (1977), etc. Kerala Kaumudi was established by K. Sukumaran BA and C. V. Kunhiraman in 1911. The daily is published from Kollam, Kannur, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Alappuzha, Bengaluru
. K. P. Kesava Menon, a freedom fighter, founded Mathrubhumi in 1923 in Kozhikode (Calicut). Presently, Mathrubhumi is the most distributed newspaper and has a readership of 94,44,000, according to the Indian Readership Survey 2009 . Mathrubhumi is published from Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur, Calicut, Kottayam, Palakkad, Kollam, Malappuram, Kochi, Thrissur, Thrissur, and also form Mumbai
, New Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai
The ownership pattern of most of the Malayalam language newspapers was private ownership before independence. The newspapers also had a common view of aggression against the British rulers and promoted patriotism before country's independence. However, both the ownership pattern and point of views of the newspapers changed after independence. But post independence, the newspapers started to give more emphasis on the burning issues of the country like eliminating poverty from the country, spreading the light of education to the remote areas, improving the condition of the underdeveloped sections of the society, etc.
There are numerous newspapers published in Malayalam language in and around the state of Kerala. The most popular Malayalam language newspapers include Deepika, Malayala Manorama, Kerala Kaumudi, Mathrubhumi, Chandrika, Desabhimani, Janmabhumi, Grihasree, Madhyamam, Sirajdaily, Thejas, Varthamanam, etc. Apart from these, there are also a few other publications like weekly and monthly magazines, published in Malayalam language. Most of the Malayalam language newspapers have been serving the society for the past several years and many new newspapers have also started their journey in the recent few years. The contribution of several renowned journalists helped the Malayalam language newspapers in reaching new heights.