Carry on Cleo...the success story of an Australian woman's magazine

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA The water cooler topic of conversation for the last few days has been the two-part miniseries broadcast by the ABC, Australia's national public broadcaster: Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo.

The two 90-minute dramas tell the story of the launch in 1972 of Cleo magazine in Australia by journalist Ita Buttrose (played by actress Asher Keddie) and media mogul Kerry Packer.  It's a story that seems to have gripped the nation not just those who work in the media.  The first part of the series, shown last Sunday, pulled in more than 1.2 million viewers. How I bet ACP, who publish Cleo, would all of those 1.2 million to go out a buy a copy next month.

Ita Buttrose

The magazine was launched almost 40 years ago when ACP's bid to secure the right to publish Australian edition of Cosmopolitan failed. Buttrose put together a magazine aimed at a young female audience in their twenties and upward - Cleo. It even featured a nude make centrefold (but with his naughty bits  covered up). But they discontinued that in 1985.   (Eventually ACP secured the right to publish the Australian Cosmo and still does today.)

The editorial mix of Cleo is fashion, relationships, sex, beauty and true stories. The May 2011 issue featured true story is entitled "I kept my rapist's baby".

Ita Buttrose is still a working journalist and is winging her to London, where she will be commentating the wedding of William and Kate for Channel 9 - also part of the ACP empire. Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo is being shown again this Easter weekend on ABC2.  I shall be watching...even though I won't be near any water coolers in Sydney next week.