Madhyamam (meaning Medium) is a Malayalam-language newspaper published in Kerala, India, since 1987. It was founded by Ideal Publications Trust run by the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind wing in Kerala. It has nine editions in India (seven in Kerala and one each in Mangalore and Bangalore) and its Persian Gulf edition Gulf Madhyamam has nine in the Middle East.
According to Indian Readership Survey 2021 and IRS 2010 Q4, it is the fourth popular newspaper in Kerala with a circulation of 1.5 lakhs and readership of 6 lakhs.
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.
The newspaper has exposed multiple stories of land encroachments, farming frauds, and malpractices in the name of assisted fertility. It also exposed an alleged kidney racket in tribal settlements in Idukki district of Kerala prompting a public outcry followed by an in-depth investigation by both the state government and the Indian Medical Association (IMA) into the incident.
Ownership
Madhyamam is owned by the Ideal Publications Trust under Jamaat-e-Islami. The trust claims as their aim "providing non-profit non-partisan and value-based journalistic service free from market pressures". 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.
History
Madhyamam began publishing in 1987 at Silver Hills near Calicut. Veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar inaugurated the newspaper. Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, Malayalam writer, described it as "the birth of a silver star".
The opening editorial on 1 June 1987 read:
The second edition was launched in July 1993 at Cochin, followed by the third at Trivandrum in April 1996. Gulf Madhyamam was first published from Bahrain in 1998 and then from Dubai in 2002.
K C Abdullah, P K Balakrishnan, and K A Kodungallur were among its early editors. Renowned writer C Radhakrishnan served as its consultant editor from 1997 to 1999. 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. Media critique Dr. K Yasin Ashraf is the associate editor of Madhyamam.
Supplements
Apart from the daily edition, Madhyamam has an online edition at 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
Madhyamam Annual, an annual supplement
Madhyamam Vidhya, an educational supplement
Ruchi, a Recipe Magazine
Upabhokthr (Consumer) Madhyamam, a business supplement
Velicham, a school supplement
Growth
Madhyamam has the fourth largest circulation in Kerala, and combined with Gulf Madhyamam, the market leader amongst Malayalam newspapers in the Middle East, has the third largest circulation amongst Malayalam newspapers.
It now has nine editions in India: in 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. 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.
Gulf Madhyamam
Gulf Madhyamam, a subsidiary, is the first international Indian newspaper and most popular Malayalam newspaper in the Middle East, with more editions in the Persian Gulf countries than any other daily in the Middle East. It 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.
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 partnership will enable both media houses to enhance their distribution network.
Other publications
In October 2001, Madyamam Health launched a healthcare scheme for the poor, "Santhwanam", and has so far reportedly spent more than Rs 30 million to treat almost 5000 patients.