Malayala Manorama is a well-known Malayalam newspaper published in Kerala. It is now treated as an encyclopedia for Keralites as it covers all the events chronologically and genealogically.

Once, Malayala Manorama was regarded as the world`s largest circulated regional newspaper. The world`s largest circulated yearbook, `Malayala Manorama` is also published by the Manorama group, which manages the newspaper.

Malayala Manorama was first published on 14th March 1890. At that time it was a weekly newspaper. Now, it has a readership of over 90 million and a circulation base of over 1.4 million copies. This works roughly as an entertainer. Kandathil Varghese Mappillai established this joint stock publishing company in 1888 at Kottayam in Kerala. This achieved the status of the first joint stock publishing company of the Republic of India. The first issue of Malayala Manorama came out on 22nd March 1890.

The poet Kerala Varma gave the newspaper`s name Malayala Manorama. The company faced several challenges within two years of from the date of incorporation. Malayala Manorama chiefly served the Christian community in Kerala. This newspaper brought huge economic reform and growth to the state at a time when money lending and upper class living were just privileges of elite Hindus or royalty. But the ruling Travancore government could not tolerate the sudden change in the economy and reform in banking and that too by a minority community. They were considered minor compared to the population of Syrian Christians in Kerala. So they had to face the wrath of the rulers and the paper had to shut down due to this and a bank owned by Manorama was locked out.

In present day, Manorama has entered in broadcasting areas also. The Malayala Manorama could continue because it could win over the affluent Christian community in Kerala and which assured the participation of the advertising clients. The traders of the same community supported it to build up a brand of its own and thus they were able to surpass the editorial supremacy of other newspapers in Kerala.

In 1904, the Malayala Manorama became a bi-weekly. The strong base of Malayala Manorama, Kandathil Varghese Mappillai passed away on July 6 in 1915. And after his death, the newspaper turned into a daily newspaper from 2nd July 1929. In 1937, the first Annual Number of Malayala Manorama was published. The Malayala Manorama was prescribed in the Travancore state on September 10 in 1938. The Cochin issue appeared September 14 in 1939.

Mammen Mappillai, the successor of Kandathil Varghese Mappillai was jailed on the charges of corruption and fraud in 1941 and was released in 1947. Again from November 29 of that year, the regular publication of Malayala Manorama was restarted. In 1950, the newspaper got its first rotary press.

Several internationally renowned journalists were produced by the Malayala Manorama. Few of the famous journalists, who worked with the Manorama daily or other Manorama publications, include Vaikkom Chandra Sekharan Nair, E.V. Krishna Pillai, E.V. Sreedharan, T.V.R. Shenoy, K. Gopalakrishnan, T.K.G.Nair and many others.

There is a long list of best selling magazines by the Malayala Manorama group. It also has a numbers of reference books, which includes `The Week` (English news weekly), `Bhashaposhini` (Malayalam literary review monthly), `Karshakashree` (Agricultural news monthly), `Manorama Weekly` (Malayalam weekly), `Manorama Varshikapathippu` (Annual), `Vijayaveedhi` (for grade 10 students), `Vanitha` (women`s bi-weekly magazine in Malayalam), `Vanitha` (women`s bi-weekly magazine in Hindi), `Kaalikkttdukka` (pre-primary school publication in Malayalam), `Magic Pot` (English weekly for pre-primary students), `Balarama` (Children`s weekly consists of picture stories), `Tozliilveedhi` (a weekly for job seekers), Hindi Year Book, English year book and Tamil year Book.

The daily morning tea of Keralites is now incomplete without this most trustworthy daily newspaper `Malayala Manorama`.