Hats off to the Mathrubhumi

BY S KRISHNA KUMAR| IN Opinion | 25/04/2011

Letter to the Hoot: Despite a seemingly compromised ownership, Mathrubhumi has been fair and rigorous in it election coverage.

S KRISHNA KUMAR pays a tribute

Mathrubhumi is a Malayalam news paper owned by politicians. M P Veerendra Kumar, its Managing Editor, is state president of Janata Dal (secular), a constituent of Congress (I) led UDF. His son, M P Shreyams Kumar was a UDF candidate during the recent assembly elections. Shreyams is also a director of Mathrubhumi Publishing Company. P V Gangadharan, another director of the company was a Congress (I) candidate during the recent elections. Gangadhran is a member of KPCC. Gangadharan's brother, P V Chandran is the Managing Editor of Mathrubhumi.

Given this background, I have been going through the election coverage of Mathrubhumi with much trepidation. But to my surprise, Mathrubhumi has showed remarkable restraint throughout the campaign period. Compared to its competitors, it reported the elections with far more balance and rigour. I think the credit should first of all go to Kesava Menon, the editor. He took over some months ago after a long stint in The Hindu. He seems to have brought the old fashioned values of ethical journalism, which The Hindu itself has shed long ago. He seems to believe that the place of an editor is behind the desk. I have never seen his picture or byline appearing in the paper. Of course, credit should also go to the owners of Mathrubhumi for giving him freedom.

I think in this era of power brokers, paid news, and celebrity reporting, Mathrubhumi, its owners, and editor deserve our praise and support.

S KRISHNA KUMAR

23 April, 2011

Thiruvananthapuram

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