K. M. Mathew was a former Editor-in-chief of leading Malayalam daily Malayala Manorama

Malayala Manorama

Malayala Manorama is a daily news paper, in Malayalam language, published in the state of Kerala, India. It was first published as a weekly on 14 March 1890, and currently has a readership of over 16 million . The Malayalam word "manorama" roughly translates to "entertainer"...

.

He joined the newspaper as Managing Editor

Managing editor

A managing editor is a senior member of a publication's management team.In the United States, a managing editor oversees and coordinates the publication's editorial activities...

 in 1954 and went on to become Editor in chief in 1973.

Mathew launched many publications such as the women’s magazine Vanitha

Vanitha

Vanitha is an Indian magazine published fortnightly by the Malayala Manorama group. Although its name translates to "woman" in Malayalam, it includes articles on a variety of topics, and is not strictly a women's magazine. Published in Malayalam and Hindi, it is the largest selling magazine in...

 in Malayalam and Hindi, the English magazine The Week

The Week (Indian magazine)

THE WEEK is an Indian weekly newsmagazine published by The Malayala Manorama Co. Ltd. The magazine is published from Kochi and is currently printed in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kottayam. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it is the largest selling English newsmagazine in India...

, the farmer’s magazine Karshakasree, children’s magazines Balarama, Amar Chitra Katha and Kalikudukka in Malayalam and Magic Pot in English and encyclopedic Manorama Yearbook

Manorama Yearbook

The Manorama Yearbook is a concise encyclopedia of current affairs published annually in Malayalam, English, Hindi, Tamil and Bengali languages by the Malayala Manorama Group in India....

 in Malayalam, English, Hindi, Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

 and Bengali

Bengali language

Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...

.

Awards

In 1998 he received Padma Bhushan

Padma Bhushan

The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...

. 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) and B D Goenka Award (1996).

On his first death anniversary, India Post issued a commemorative postage stamp . At the Parliament House, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh

Manmohan Singh

Manmohan Singh is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister belonging to the Indian...

 received an album containing the stamp from Kapil Sibal

Kapil Sibal

Kapil Sibal is an Indian politician and lawyer. He is currently the Minister of Communications and Information Technology. He also held the two ministries Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Earth Sciences in the First Manmohan Singh Cabinet...

, Union minister for communications and information technology. The five-rupee stamp had a print run of 3,00,000. The stamp, first day cover and cancellation were designed by Nenu Gupta.

Career

Mathew has served as chairman of Press Trust of India

Press Trust of India

Press Trust of India is the largest news agency in India. It is headquartered in Delhi and is a nonprofit cooperative among more than 450 Indian newspapers and has a staff of about 2,000 writers spread across 150 offices nationwide...

, President of the Indian Newspaper Society

Indian Newspaper Society

The Indian Newspaper Society acts as the central organization of the Press of India, an independent body authenticating circulation figures of newspapers and periodicals in India. It is an organization which plays a major role in protecting and promoting the freedom of press in India. The society...

, Chairman of Audit Bureau of Circulations, Vice-president of Indian Language Newspaper Association, founder trustee and chairman of Press Institute of India as well as the Research Institute for Newspaper Development. He was a member of the Press Council of India

Press Council of India

The Press Council Of India is a statutory body in India that governs the conduct of the print media. It is one of the most important bodies that sustain democracy, as it has supreme power in regards to the media to ensure that freedom of speech is maintained. However, it is also empowered to hold...

, wage boards for working journalists and non-journalists and Central Press Advisory Committee. He was also on the executive committee of the Federation of International Newspaper Publishers and Editors, France.

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", was published by Penguin in Malayalam (2004) and in English (2005).

Autobiography

His autobiography titled "Ettamathe Mothiram" (The Eighth Ring) was published in 2008.