[8] Varghese Mappillai had worked for a year as editor of Kerala Mitram, a Malayalam newspaper run by Gujarati businessman Devji Bhimji, in Cochin and he took over the same position for Manorama.

[9] The first issue was published on 22 March 1890 from Orthodox Theological Seminary, Kottayam, while the town was hosting a popular cattle fair.

In 1938, Travancore state proscribed Malayala Manorama on charges of publishing news against the Diwan; Mammen Mappillai was convicted and imprisoned.

The competition set off a keen struggle for more readers, faster equipment and national advertising from major consumer goods companies [such as Hindustan Unilever].

[11] Manorama launched its printing centre at Kozhikode, Malabar in 1966 with a cast-off press from the paper's base at Kottayam and hand-composed type.

Mathew sent his best journalists and managers to training schools around the world and imported the most effective techniques in international journalism and newspaper production, which brought a contemporary look and feel to Malayala Manorama.

Mathew is credited with the introduction of the concept of "editionalising" with a larger share of local news and reader-friendly packaging through professional page designing in Manorama, which in turn impacted the entire newspaper industry in Kerala.

By 2007, Manorama become the only non-English and non-Hindi daily newspaper in India to cross 1.5 million copies in circulation.

In their obituary The Hindu praised Mathew as,"In what could only be described as a rarity then in Indian language journalism, Mathew showed an unusual commitment to modernisation and professionalism and became a role model for the newspaper industry, which in the early 1980s was at the critical juncture of embarking on a phase of unbelievable expansion.

[22] Mangalam Publications, Mathrubhumi, Malayala Manorama were among the media houses that were blamed for the coverage of the ISRO Spy case against Indian scientist Nambi Narayanan.

Soon, other news houses, such as Malayala Manorama and then Mathrubhumi, also picked it up," writer and veteran journalist Paul Zacharia told TNM.