(August 02, 2010) Catholic leaders in Kerala state, southern India, have expressed
their sorrow at the death of media mogul K.M. Mathew, saying the Church in the state
has lost a “visionary and friend.” Mathew, who ran the Malayala Manorama group of
publications for 37 years, died aged 93 in Kottayam on August 1 following a brief
illness. “He was more than a media tycoon. Mathew influenced opinion makers in the
state. The Church has lost a great friend and visionary,” said Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil,
head of the Kerala-based Syro-Malabar Church. Mathew, a Malankara Syrian Orthodox,
was known for his opposition of communism. He and his publications fought against
communist polices for many years, some Church leaders said. Mathew gave a “new direction
to the Malayalam [the local language] newspaper industry,” said Major Archbishop Baselios
Mar Cleemis of the Malankara Church. “More than a media tycoon, he took a keen interest
in the development of Kerala. He was a great humanist who was always sympathetic
toward the poor.” People across religious and political divides paid tribute to the
departed journalist, who held several national positions such as head of the Press
Trust of India. Indian president Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and
several federal and state ministers hailed Mathew as a dynamic journalist. Mathew
was a “leading light of the Indian press fraternity” and “a champion of the highest
traditions in Indian journalism,” Singh said. Malayala Manorama, which began in 1890,
is now a media group that has 47 other publications.