MASS MEDIA

In the history of journalism, Kottayam occupies a prominent place. The origin of journalistic activity in the district can be tracked back to the middle of the last century. Janaanikshepam the first newspaper published by the natives, was brought out from CMS Press at Kottayam in 1848.

Malayala Manorama	Vidyasamgraham a publication of the CMS college, was started in 1864. Many of the then famous writers, had contributed to this publication. In 1867, Sandishtavadi another newspaper, was started at Kottayam by W.H.Moor, which was later banned. Malayala Mithram, started in 1878, was circulation for about 12 years. In 1887, Nasrani Deepika was started Mannanam near Kottayam by the Carmelites of Mary Immaculates (CMI) missionaries, which later became the Deepika and continues to be one of the leading vernacular dailies of the state. The ‘Malayala Manorama’, the largest circulated daily in India, was started at Kottayam in 1890 by K.C.Mammen Mapila. Bhashaposhini, the literary magazine, was also started by K.C.Mammen Mapila, in 1892. After a long break, this publication has been revived by like Kerala Varma Valiya Koyi Thampuran, Mooloor S. Padmanabha Panicker, Kattakayathil Cheriyan Mappila and Moorkothu Kumaran, had appeared in the pages of these publications. Kottayam is the centre of newspapers and periodicals. Four major dailies; viz. Malayala Manorama, Mathrubhumi, Deepika and Mangalam are being published from here. The number of periodicals come to about thirty.
Mathrubhumi
Deepika
Mangalam

The Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), a Central Government Institution, with its headquarters in New Delhi, has opened its second branch at Kottayam. The site of the Kottayam branch is at Vadavathoor, 3km. Away from Kottayam Town. IIMC is engaged in improving professional knowledge and technical skill of the personnel working in various media, information & publicity departments of the Government and Public Sector undertakings.

Deshabhimani

Kottayam is home town of DC Books which took birth in 1974, and today is among the top ten publishers in India and is the leading publishers in Kerala with a market share of nearly 80 percent. Shri.K.R.Narayanan, Honorable President of India was pleased to inaugurate the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of DC Books on 8th August, 1998.

With D.C.Kizhakkemuri at the helm, almost all the works of prominent authors in Malayalam and those of new talents are brought out by DC Books. It also publishes well known Indian and foreign authors in Malayalam language.

D.C. BOOK CENTRE

Freedom at Midnight by Dominic Lapiere and Larry Collins, Road Back to Nature by M.Fukuoka, One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcica Marquez, India: Midnight to the Millennium by Shashi Taroor, Sunstone by Octavio Paz, Poems of Federico Garcia Lorca are some of the major translations brought out by DC Books.

Among Prominent Indian authors are Rabindranath Tagore, Tara Sankar Banerjee, Ranjit Desai, Satyajit Ray, etc. in 1995, it started publishing Disney Publications in Malayalam, the first venture ever in an Indian language. DC Books, is also the publishers of the largest selling bilingual dictionary in India - T.Ramalingam Pillai’s English-English-Malayalam Dictionary. The End of Imagination by Arundhati Roy, the Booker Prize Winner is the recent publication,

It has got co-publishing projects with Cambridge University Press, Mahatma Gandhi University and leading publishers like Penguin India in English. Akhila Vijnjana Kosam, a 4 volume desk encyclopedia, brought out by DC Books in 1988 is the first of its kind in Indian language. Now it is on the work of a new edition of the same giving special emphasis on Science and Technology. It is also publishing a CD-ROM Version of the encyclopedia in Malayalam, the first Multimedia Encyclopedia in an Indian language.

At present DC Books, together with Current Books which became its sister concern in 1977 and having over 60 percent market share of general books sales (English and Malayalam) in Kerala, operates a chain of 23 branches including one in New Delhi and 55 agencies is the largest publishing/sales network in the State. In total about 70 percent of the book sale in Kerala is through DC Books and Current Books. Both are also the publishers and authorised dealers of many Indian and Foreign publications including reference books.

DC Offset Printers, the production unit of DC Books, maintains excellent quality in production. Several awards received by this unit from Federation of Indian Publishers and the State Government bears testimony to this.

Thus today, DC Books brings out one book per day on an average and has published 3300 titles so far. DC Books has paved the way for a total revolution in Kerala’s Book Industry by inculcating and improving the reading habit among the public and by including indirectly to improve the design, printing and quality of books, and cultural progress in general.