President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi condoled the death of Chief Editor of Malayala Manorama daily K. M. Mathew, who passed away in Kottayam this morning.
Dr. Singh and Ms. Gandhi called up the bereaved family and conveyed their condolences.
“We have lost a hardworking, dynamic and visionary journalist who made Malayala Manorama a major Indian language daily,” the President said expressing her condolence.
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Mr. Mathew, a doyen of Indian media industry and a former Chairman of Press Trust of India, died at the age of 93.
In a message, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said Mathew was a “visionary” and recalled his contribution towards development journalism.
Ms. Soni said that Mathew was a pioneer for the development of language media in the country.
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“His contribution towards development journalism remains unparalleled. He promoted social issues,” the minister said, adding his death leaves a void.
Chairman of PTI Board of Directors, Vijay Kumar Chopra, paid tributes to Mr. Mathew, recalling his services to the Indian media and to PTI in particular.
“He was a visionary who left a mark on the Indian media industry. His contribution to the growth of PTI was also significant,” Mr. Chopra said.
Kerala Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan today said Mr. Mathew was a stalwart of journalism who left a deep impression in socio-cultural spheres of the State.
Though the Left had sharp differences with his political and ideological positions, Mr. Mathew was one of the few editors who deeply influenced the Kerala society over the last five decades, Mr. Achuthanandan said in a message here.
Even when he opposed the policies and perspectives of the Communists, he always ensured that the opposing views were also accommodated in his newspaper, Mr. Achuthanandan said.
No one would dispute Mathew’s contribution to Malayalam prose and introducing professionalism and advanced technology in journalism, he added.
Kerala Governor R. S. Gavai also mourned the death of Mr. Mathew, saying his passing away was a great loss not only to the state but also for the entire country.
“I am profoundly sad at the demise of Mr. K. M. Mathew, veteran journalist and Chief Editor of Malayala Manorama,” he said in his message.
Mr. Mathew had upheld the noble traits of his father K. C. Mamman Mappillai, the founder of Malayala Manorama, all his life and it was under his able leadership the daily grew into prominence as the largest circulated and one of the most influential newspapers.
Mr. Gavai conveyed his deep condolence to the bereaved family as well as scores of his admirers.
The Editors Guild of India today condoled the death of Chief Editor of Malayala Manorama daily K M Mathew, saying he had spearheaded a media revolution.
“As Chief Editor of Malayala Manorama group, K M Mathew set new benchmarks in language journalism, and spearheaded a media revolution,” Editors Guild President Rajdeep Sardesai said here.
“He held many important positions including the chairmanship of the Press Trust of India. We have lost one the giants of the journalistic fraternity, whose contributions to journalism will not be forgotten,” he added.