Madhyamam Daily

Madhyamam

Front page of Madhyamam, 9 April 2009
Type Daily newspaper
Format Broadsheet
Publisher Ideal Publication Trust
Editor O. Abdurahiman
Founded 1987
Political alignment Pro- centre-Left
Language Malayalam
Headquarters Silver Hills, Kozhikode , Kerala, India.
Circulation above 904,000 daily
Sister newspapers Madhyamam Weekly
Website MADHYAMAM.com

Madhyamam (Malayalam: മാധ്യമം, meaning Medium) is a Malayalam newspaper publish from Kerala, India, since 1987.[1] It is India's first international newspaper.[2] It was founded in 1987 by the Ideal Publications Trust.[3] It has 8 editions in India (7 in Kerala and one in Bangalore ) and its Persian Gulf edition Gulf Madhyamam has 9 in the Middle East.

According to Indian Readership Survey 2009[4] and IRS 2010 Q4, it's the fourth popular newspaper in Kerala with a readership of 904,000 readers.[5]

The newspaper and its team of journalists have secured nearly ninety awards including Ramnath Goenka Journalism Award, Statesman Award for Rural Reporting, PUCL Journalism Award for Human Rights, ESR World Journalism Prize and the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) Developing Asia Journalism Award.[6]

The newspaper exposed multiple stories of land encroachments, farming frauds, and malpractices in the name of assisted fertility.[6] It also exposed an alleged kidney racket in tribal settlements in Idukki district of Kerala prompting a public outcry[7] followed by an in-depth investigation by both the state government[8] and the Indian Medical Association (IMA)[9] into the incident.

Ownership

Madhyamam is owned by the Ideal Publications Trust, most of whose members are affiliated with the Kerala unit of the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind.[10] The trust claims as their aim "providing non-profit non-partisan and value-based journalistic service free from market pressures".[6] The non-profit nature of the ownership, it says ensures the paper stays free of market compulsions of a business concern and be selective in the advertisements it publishes.[6]

History

First issue of the Madhyamam daily.
First issue of the Madhyamam daily.

Madhyamam began publishing in 1987 at Silver Hills near Calicut. Veteran journalist, Kuldip Nayar inaugurated the newspaper.[11][12] Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, Malayalam writer, described it as "the birth of a silver star". The opening editorial on 1 June 1987 read:[6]

Madhyamam comes to you, the reader, with a clear sense of purpose... Mass media are today passing through a period of degeneration. This sphere is not an exception to the general deterioration of values. The face of truth is being concealed behind the glitter of gold. In this murky situation we offer wholesome journalism reflective of a healthy worldview.

The second edition was launched in July 1993 at Cochin followed by the third at Trivandrum in April 1996.[13] Gulf Madhyamam was first published from Bahrain in 1998 and then from Dubai in 2002.[14] K C Abdullah, P K Balakrishnan, K A Kodungallur were among its editors at the early stage.Renowned writer C Radhakrishnan served as its consultant editor from 1997–99.[15] O Abdurahman is the current Editor of Madhyamam and PA Abdul Hakeem is the publisher in charge. VK Hamza Abbas is the Chief Editor of Gulf Madhyamam.[16] Media critique Dr. K Yasin Ashraf is the associate editor of Madhyamam.

Supplements

Cover page of Madhyamam Weekly

Apart from the daily edition, Madhyamam having online edition madhyamam.com and also publishes various supplements :

  • Varadya Madhyamam, A weekend supplement
  • Kudumba Madhyamam ( Family Madhyamam), focussing on family and children
  • Thozhil Madhyamam, a career supplement
  • Vidhyabhyasa Madhyamam, an education supplement
  • Info Madhyamam, an IT supplement
  • Upabhokthr(Consumer) Madhyamam, a business supplement
  • Velicham, a school supplement[17]

Growth

Madhyamam has the fourth largest circulation in Kerala, and combined with Gulf Madhyamam, the market leader amongst Malayalam newspapers in the Middle East,[5][18] has the third largest circulation amongst Malayalam newspapers.[1][19] It now has nine editions in India: Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Kochi, Malappuram, Kannur, Thrissur, Bangalore, Mangalore and Mumbai. The edition at Thrissur was inaugurated on 18 August 2009 by the Defence Minister of India A.K Antony.[20] In April 2011, the paper expanded to its 10th edition in India from Mumbai. The Governor of Maharashtra State handed over a copy to Oscar award winner Resul Pookutty.[21]

Gulf Madhyamam, a subsidiary is the first international indian news paper and most popular Malayalam newspaper in the Middle East, with highest number of editions in the Persian Gulf countries than any other daily in the middle east.[18] Gulf Madhyamam, is published from four locations in Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah and Abha), one in the UAE (Dubai), one in Oman(Muscat) and from Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar.[22]

Okaz group, a leading media conglomerate in Saudi Arabia, has tied up with the Gulf Madhyamam Daily, the No.1 Malayalam daily in the Middle East. It is published from nine centres in the Persian Gulf region, with four editions in Saudi Arabia.The tie up would enable both media houses to enhance their distribution network.[23]

Madhyamam healthcare

In October 2001, it launched a healthcare scheme for the poor, "Santhwanam" and has so far reportedly spent more than Rs 30 million to treat almost 5000 patients.[24]

Television Channel

The Madhyamam Group also runs a Malayalam–language news-cum-entertainment television channel named Media One TV. The channel was licensed in September 2011 and was officially launched on 10 February 2013. The main studio is located at Velliparamba, Kozhikode.[25]

Awards and honours

ADBI Award winning article in Varadya Madhyamam, published on 15 October 2006

The Madhyamam team has won numerous national and international awards for its contribution to journalism and in particular issues of agriculture,rural development and human rights.

International honours

Savad Rahman, a sub-editor at Madhyamam won the Development Journalist of the Year prize at the Developing Asia Journalism Awards (DAJA), sponsored by the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI). An article on the plight of women trapped in the brothels of Mumbai earned him the prize.[26] He also won the Diversity and Equal Opportunity special prize at the ESR World Journalism Prize 2007 for his feature Bant Singh The Lion of Mansa. The prize winning article was about Bant Singh, a Dalit activist in Punjab.[27][28]

National awards

P.K. Prakash, a senior staff reporter since 1996, won the 23rd "Journalism for Human Rights" award instituted by the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) in 2003. His reports on the Adivasi land issue in Muthanga,[29] the illegal kidney trade in Kerala,[30] prisoner torture at the Aluva Sub-jail, and the illegal viagra experiments on infants at a private hospital in Kochi[31] earned him the award.[32][33] He also earned a special mention from the PUCL award committee the previous year.[34]

His article series Choothattam Thudarunna vipani(The continuing gambles of the market, published 26–30 Oct 2007), explaining the impact of globalisation on the remote corners of rural India and Bhoomiyude jaathi(Caste of the land), an analytical study on the impact of land reforms on the Dalit population in Kerala won him "The Statesman Award for the Best Rural Reporting – First Prize"(2007),[35][36] and the Ramnath Goenka "Excellence in Journalism Awards for Regional Languages 2007–2008" – Print category .[37][38] He also received the 12th "National Media Fellowship" instituted by the National Foundation for India, a Rs. 100,000 grant for conducting studies on the plight of adivasis in the Kerala model of development.[39]

MJ Babu, a senior reporter of Madhyamam since 1993, twice won "The Statesman Award for the Best Rural Reporting", first in 1998 and then in 2008. His series of articles titled Pattanam gramathodu cheyyunnath (What a city does to a village, published:7–9 April 2008) won him the 2008 award. The article-series was about the sorry plight of the people living around the Canoli canal of the Chakkamkandam Lake in Guruvayoor where all the waste including human excreta from the city were dumped making it a breeding ground for all kinds of diseases. It also highlighted how paddy cultivation near Guruvayoor was destroyed due to pollution.[40]

State Government awards

PK Prakash won the 2007 Ambedkar Media Award instituted by the Government of Kerala, for his report on Bhoomiyude jaathi(Caste of the land), an analytical study on the impact of land reforms on the Dalit population in Kerala.[41] He also won the same in 2004 for his investigative report on the illegal kidney trade in Kerala.[42] Jisha Elizabeth, a reporter at the daily won the award in 2009 for her article series on a tribal colony working its way to join the mainstream of society with the help of the government.[43] Razak Thazhathangadi, press photographer at the newspaper won the State Media Award 2003 in the news photography category for his photographs titled "Niram Maratha Nimisham" (The moment which did not change colour).[44] N P Jishar, Senior correspondent, won the media award constituted by Department of Culture, Govt of Kerala, for best reporting in International Film Festival of Kerala in 2010, December.[45][46] and media award for state school kalolsavam reporting constituted by Depeartment of Education, Government of Kerala 2010.

Press Club / Press Academy awards

Madhyamam Reporter Akbarali Puthunagaram won the Theruvath Raman Award 2006 instituted by the Calicut Press Club for his work Super Chikiltsa, Hitech Kolla,(Superior treatment, Hi-Tech exploitation) appearing between 31 August to 5 September 2006.[47] Assistant Editor T P Cheruppa won the award in 2007 for his editorial Nellu Mlechamo (Is paddy shameful? – 11 Dec 2007) and[48] sub-editor G Prajesh Sen won the award in 2008 for his work Vadakathottiyile Vilppanatharatt, which appeared in the paper from 31 July to 6 August 2008.[49] PK Prakash and Prajesh Sen also won the R. Krishnaswamy Journalism Award,jointly instituted by the Keralashabdam weekly and the Kollam Press Club in 2007[50] and 2009 respectively.[51] The two also won the V. Karunakaran Nambiar Award instituted by Kerala Press Academy in 2007 (PK Prakash)[52] and 2009 (Prajesh Sen).[53] Reporter N P Jishar, got chowwara parameswran award of press academy in 2008 for the serial names 'karshaka paadangalil kaliman khananam'. He also received First Best reporter award constituted by government of Kerla in state school festival,2008.

PK Prakash won the first C.P. Mammu Endowment award 2006 instituted by the Ernakulam Press Club for his story Bhoomiyude jaathi(Caste of the land).[54] TP Cheruppa also won the maiden Kambissery Memorial Journalism Award instituted by the Kollam Press Club in 2006 for the best editorial in a Malayalam daily. The chosen editorial was Irayakkapedunna Shaishavam(Victimizing childhood) which appeared in Madhayamam on 24 June 2006.[55] MJ Babu also received the Dr Moorkkannoor Narayanan Award instituted by the Kerala Press Academy, the Oorja Kerala Award and the Farm Journalism Award instituted by the State unit of the Indian Veterinary Association .[56][57]

Controversies & Criticisms

Email snooping incident

A controversy arose after Madhyamam weekly reported that Police had sought passwords and login details of these accounts from various service providers like Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, Rediffmail and Asianet India, among others. Alleging that it was an attempt at religious profiling, the daily claimed that 268 e-mail accounts have been subjected to surveillance, out of which 258 belongs to Muslims. None among them had any previous criminal backgrounds and so there is no clarity as to why they were put under surveillance, it added. A probe was ordered after leading Muslim organisations in Kerala demanded the Chief Minister Oommen Chandy's explanation in this issue as he is handling the Home Affairs.

Chief Minister said that Madhyamam weekly which gave the news has not published the complete list and provided the lists after removing the emails of people belonging to other communities. He said the weekly must come clear on this. The investigating officers got 268 mail ids from a person and they were handed over to the hi-tech cell for tracing the identity, no hacking attempt was made, he added. .[58]

Police Case for Insulting Religious Sentiments

In accordance with an order from Ernakulam judicial first magistrate court, on 11 March 2014, Kerala Police registered a case against Madhyamam and some other media organizations, in response to a petition[59] accusing of insulting religious sentiments. Madhyamam was booked under Sections 153A,153 B,295A,298,120B and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.[60]

Other publications

Madhyamam Weekly is a literary and political magazine since 1998. The magazines contains regular columns of prominent writers like Maythil Radhakrishnan (Moonnu Vara), Viju V Nair (Vellezhuthu), KEN Kunhahammad (Idapedal) and Babu Bharadwaj (Vazhipokkante Vaakkukal).

It gave a new insight into the murder of Naxal Varghese, a 1970s leader of the CPI(ML) in Kerala during the Emergency of 1975–1977. A penitent policeman in the Kerala Police, Constable Ramachandran Nair dictated a confessional note to M.K.Jayadevan which was later handed over to "Gro" Vasu,[61] an erstwhile Naxalite who later published it in the Madhyamam weekly.[6][62][63] The letter was then used an important evidence in the "SUPREME COURT OF INDIA – P. Vijayan vs State of Kerala" case.[61]

The magazine claims a circulation of 25,000 copies each week.[19]

References

  1. 1 2 Registrar of Newspapers of India. (PDF).
  2. ↑ "SHADOW". shadow.com. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  3. ↑ "CPI(M) invokes Israel factor to consolidate among Muslims". India Today. April 1, 2009. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  4. ↑ Top 5 Malayalam Dailies: Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2009 — Round 1
  5. 1 2 IRS 2010 Q3 All Dailies in Kerala since IRS 2009 R2 [http://www.livemalayalam.com/news/kerala/irs-q4-2010-top-10-dailies-in-kerala/IRS Q4 2010. Afaqs.com (8 December 2010).
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 About Us – Madhyamam Archived 17 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ Inter State ramifications Archived 16 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine.. Flonnet.com.
  8. ↑ Kidney racket in Kerala Archived 2 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine.. Frontlineonnet.com.
  9. ↑ Human organ sale: the Kerala story. Issuesinmedicalethics.org (21 June 2002).
  10. ↑ "Madhyamam: A Muslim media success story". Rediff. 12 March 2009. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
  11. ↑ "Madhyamam - History". www.madhyamam.com. Retrieved 2017-08-11.
  12. ↑ Madhyamam- media revolution in the south. Milligazette.com (15 July 2004).
  13. ↑ Municipal Corporation of Trivandrum, Publications profile Archived 25 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ↑ The National – The news that changed everything. The National (Abu Dhabi). (16 October 2013).
  15. ↑ Welcome to the home page of C. Radhakrishnan Archived 18 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine.. C-radhakrishnan.info (15 February 1939).
  16. ↑ India urged to repatriate undocumented Indians
  17. ↑ Nirakkoottu 2010
  18. 1 2 IPSOS-STAT Survey 2009
  19. 1 2 Madhyamam A Muslim media success story Archived 25 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine.. Rediff.com (12 March 2009).
  20. ↑ Madhyamam Thrissur edition launched. Samaylive.com (15 February 2010).
  21. ↑ Maha Governor launches Mumbai edition of daily `Madhyamam'', IBN Live News. Ibnlive.in.com (22 April 2011).
  22. ↑ Malayalam Newspapers eye Gulf as home markets slow down –. Zawya.com (10 May 2009).
  23. ↑ Okaz Organization ties up with Gulf Madhyamam Archived 26 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine.. Saudi Gazette (19 June 2013).
  24. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
  25. ↑ TV channels storm arena in Kerala’s political battle. Indian Express (2 May 2011).
  26. ↑ ADBI’s 2005 awards honor excellence among developing Asia’s print journalists Archived 6 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  27. ↑ ESR World Journalism Prize The Social and Environmental Responsibility world journalism prize 2007
  28. ↑ Social Environmental Responsibility World Journalism Prize winners announced. Editorsweblog.org (24 October 2007).
  29. ↑ Acceptance speech by P.K. PrakashMuthanga: The Real Story: Adivasi Movement to Recover Land, by C. R. Bijoy and K. Ravi Raman May 17 2003 Economic and Political Weekly.
  30. ↑ Illegal Kidney trade in Kerala Archived 2 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine.. Frontlineonnet.com.
  31. ↑ British Medical Journal 2002;325:181 ( 27 July ). BMJ.
  32. ↑ PUCL Bulletin, May 2004 P.K. Prakash, Citation:23rd PUCL Journalism for Human Rights Award. Pucl.org (23 March 2004).
  33. ↑ "Awards for scribes". The Hindu. (4 March 2004).
  34. ↑ The Hindu – National – PUCL award for journalists. Hinduonnet.com (5 March 2003).
  35. ↑ Statesman Awards for Rural Reporting announced. News.oneindia.in (16 September 2007).
  36. ↑ "Capturing myriad images of rural India", The Statesman, Kolkata 16 September 2007. WEEKLY NEWS ROUND UP 88 (archive) Archived 8 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. The Times of India.
  37. ↑ Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards 2007–2008 Archived 28 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
  38. ↑ Stories behind the story. The Indian Express. (19 April 2009).
  39. ↑ National media fellowship. The Hindu. (4 December 2006).
  40. ↑ Of those who wrote of the untold woes – The Statesman 17 September 2009
  41. ↑ Awards for media reports on Dalit issues The Hindu Kerala – Thiruvananthapuram Monday, Nov 12, 2007. The Hindu. (12 November 2007).
  42. ↑ Chandy calls for tackling hunger The Hindu 13 Nov 2004 Kerala – Thiruvananthapuram. The Hindu. (13 November 2004).
  43. ↑ Media awards The Hindu 10 Nov 2009. The Hindu. (10 November 2009).
  44. ↑ Kerala Interface,Department of Information & Public Relations, Government of Kerala, Volume 2 Number 5, April 2004 Archived 23 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  45. ↑ December 2010 18 Archived 20 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
  46. ↑ "'Portraits in a Sea of Lies' bags Golden Crow Pheasant Award at IFFK". The Hindu. 17 December 2010.
  47. ↑ Award for 'Madhyamam' reporter. News.webindia123.com.
  48. ↑ Madhyamam bags theruvath raman award. News.oneindia.in (10 July 2008).
  49. ↑ Prajesh Sen bags 'Theruvath Raman' award.
  50. ↑ Kerala -> Kochi -Award presented The Hindu. Tuesday, 1 May 2007
  51. ↑ Journalism Award presented. The Hindu. (21 August 2009).
  52. ↑ Kerala – Kollam Award for journalist. The Hindu. (17 August 2007).
  53. ↑ Kochi today
  54. ↑ Engagements – Kochi. The Hindu. (1 June 2007).
  55. ↑ Kambissery award for Cherooppa. The Hindu.
  56. ↑ Statesman Award for MJ Babu of 'Madhyamam' daily in Kerala. Twocircles.net.
  57. ↑ MJ BABU reporter profile Thrissur Press Club Archived 17 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  58. ↑ News on e-mail snooping unfortunate: CM Archived 20 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine.. Mathrubhumi English (18 January 2012).
  59. ↑ "Book on Amma: Petition against media organizations, others". The Hindu. 5 March 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
  60. ↑ "Amritanandamayi mutt row: Gail Tredwell, five news organisations booked". India Today. 12 March 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  61. 1 2 SUPREME COURT OF INDIA – P. Vijayan vs State of Kerala &Amp; Anr on 27 January 2010
  62. ↑ Malayala Manorama -Vichaaram->News->Malayalam->WebColumns->Kadhakkoottu – ''Madakkathapaalile charithram''(History in the rejected mails) March 18, 2010. Manoramaonline.com.
  63. ↑ Manorama Online | Home | Kadhakkoottu. Week.manoramaonline.com.
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