Ita Clare ButtroseAC,OBE (born 17 January 1942) is an Australian television and radio personality, author and former magazine editor, publishing executive, newspaper journalist and television network executive chairperson.
She was the founding editor of Cleo, a high-circulation magazine aimed at women aged 20 to 40 that was frank about sexuality (and, in its infancy, featured nude male centrefolds) and, later, the editor of the more conventional The Australian Women's Weekly. She was the youngest person to be appointed editor of The Weekly, which was then, per capita, the largest-selling magazine in the world.
Buttrose was a panellist on the Network Ten morning program Studio 10 from 2013 until 2018.[3]
Buttrose was born on 17 January 1942 at Potts Point, Sydney,[4][5] and named after her maternal grandmother, Ita Clare Rodgers (née Rosenthal), pronounced /ˈaɪtə/ (rhyming with 'fighter').[6] She has Jewish ancestry on her maternal side.[7] She was raised as a Catholic by her parents.[8] Buttrose's father, Charles Oswald Buttrose, was a journalist and at one time the editor of The Daily Mirror in Sydney. By her own account she had decided on a career in journalism at the age of 11.[9] Buttrose spent her first five years in New York City when her father was the New York correspondent for The Daily Mirror.[10] The family returned to Australia in 1949 and settled in the harbourside suburb of Vaucluse. Her parents divorced during her teens, after 25 years of marriage, and details of her father's private life were printed in the tabloid press, causing considerable anguish to her mother. Buttrose briefly attended a private school but because her father could not afford the fees she was then moved to a public school. She completed her secondary education at Dover Heights Home Science High School, leaving at 15 to begin her career.[5]
Ita Buttrose at La Traviata at Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour 2012
Buttrose was appointed women's editor of the Telegraph at just 23 years old. In 1966 she won a racetrack fashion contest run by a rival newspaper, for which the first prize was an overseas trip, including a visit to Expo 67 in Montreal. Buttrose and her husband then stopped in England in 1967 where she worked for a time on the British national magazine Woman's Own before giving birth to her first child, a daughter, Kate.[5] It was after her daughter's birth that she received a telegram from Sir Frank Packer, head of Australian Consolidated Press, offering her back her former job as women's editor at the Telegraph. The family then returned to Australia.
In 1971 Buttrose was chosen as founding editor of a new Australian women's magazine.[12] This was originally to have been an Australian edition of the renowned American magazine Cosmopolitan, but the deal fell through after Hearst Magazines sold the Cosmopolitan rights to longtime Packer rivals Fairfax, so Packer and Buttrose set about creating a new publication, dubbed Cleo which they launched in 1972, several months ahead of its rival. Cleo was an instant hit, selling its entire original print run in just two days; the magazine broke new ground in Australian mainstream publishing, featuring the first nude male centrefold (actor Jack Thompson) and frank articles on female sexuality and other topics, leading to the inclusion of the first sealed section in an Australian magazine. During the early months of the magazine, Buttrose became pregnant with her second child, Ben, but with the grudging support of the Packers she worked through her pregnancy; an unusual feat for that time as it was still common for women to have to give up work permanently after they became pregnant.[13]
Buttrose edited Cleo until 1975, when she was appointed editor of the Packers' flagship magazine, The Australian Women's Weekly (1975–76), then she became editor-in-chief of both publications from 1976 to 1978, before being appointed Publisher of Australian Consolidated Press Women's Division from 1978 to 1981. In 1981 she left the Packers after their rival Rupert Murdoch offered her the job of Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph in 1981, making her the first female editor of a major metropolitan newspaper in Australia, a position she held until 1984; she was also appointed to the board of News Limited. During the period 1982-1983 she also had her own weekend radio talk back show simply titled ‘Ita’ for 2UE radio station. She made frequent appearances on radio and TV and in 1980, her media prominence led to her becoming the subject of the song "Ita", recorded by rock band Cold Chisel, which was included on their successful East album.
Buttrose was the chairperson of the National Advisory Committee on AIDS (NACAIDS) from 1984 until 1988.[14] On one occasion, she appeared personally in a nationwide TV campaign to explain that donating blood at a blood bank did not pose a risk of catching AIDS (the fear of which had caused a significant drop in donations). During the mid to late 1980s Ita also had a regular weekly 'Ask Ita' page for the magazine Woman’s Day which gave readers advice on issues.
After her stint with News Limited, Buttrose founded her own publishing company, Capricorn Publishing, and launched her own magazine, Ita during 1989 though due to the recession and a decline in monthly sales the publication eventually folded and she launched a new company, the Good Life Publishing Company, which in 2005 published bark!, a lifestyle magazine aimed at dog owners.[15]
Buttrose was a regular on Beauty and the Beast in the 1990s and early 2000s. Buttrose was also a regular commentator on the Nine Network breakfast show Today and was at one point considered to replace Kerri-Anne Kennerley in the network's morning slot.[16]
In June 2013, Buttrose joined Network Ten where she hosted morning program Studio 10 two mornings a week for the station alongside Joe Hildebrand, Sarah Harris, Denise Drysdale and Jessica Rowe. The show premiered in late 2013.[17] However, 2016 saw Buttrose reduce her appearances on the program to just twice a week to spend more time with her grandchildren.
In April 2018, Buttrose resigned as panelist on Studio 10 to focus on other parts of her life, including spending more time with her grandchildren and writing.[19]
Since leaving Network Ten, Buttrose has appeared on The Morning Show on the Seven Network and filled in for Sonia Kruger on Today Extra on the Nine Network.
Buttrose is also a prolific author and has published ten[when?] books, including her autobiography, A Passionate Life. In 2011 Penguin published A Guide to Australian Etiquette.[citation needed]
In 2011 she was elected President of Alzheimer's Australia until end of June 2014. She is currently[when?] an ambassador for Alzheimer's Australia.[citation needed]
Buttrose is[when?] also an ambassador of the Australian Women Chamber of Commerce (AWCCI) and sits on the AWCCI Advisory Board.[11] She works on the professional speakers' circuit.[23][24]
In 1984 she was named the Variety Club 'Personality of the Year' as well as winning the Australasian Academy of Broadcast, Arts and Sciences for the 'Most Promising Newcomer to Radio'. In 1993 Buttrose was named Juvenile Diabetes Foundation's 'Australian of the Year'. [citation needed]
She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by Macquarie University in 2014 in recognition of her contribution to the arts. In 2015, she was awarded a second honorary Doctor of Letters degree by the University of Wollongong for her distinguished service to Australian society and for her commitment to advocating for vulnerable people in the community.[citation needed] She was awarded an honorary Doctor of the university degree by the University of New South Wales in 2018 in recognition of her eminent service to health, and for being an inspirational role model for aspiring women in business and for those wanting to make a difference in society.[32]
Personal life
At 21 years of age, Buttrose married architect Alasdair "Mac" Macdonald and had two children. In 1975, while editing The Australian Women's Weekly, her marriage to Macdonald broke down and the couple divorced in 1976. Later she met Peter Sawyer and they married in 1979. By her own account it was "not a very happy marriage"; Sawyer left in 1980 and they subsequently divorced.[5]
Buttrose cared for her father after he was diagnosed with vascular dementia. He died in 1999.[33]
In his 2007 book Who Killed Channel Nine?, former Nine Network producer Gerald Stone claimed that Buttrose and Kerry Packer conducted a private but intense affair during Buttrose's tenure on Cleo. Stone also claimed that Packer even offered to marry her but she rejected the idea and they split after a "blazing row". Buttrose herself has repeatedly declined to comment on the matter.[34]
Selected works
Buttrose has authored or co-authored many books, including:[citation needed]
A Guide to Australian Etiquette (2011)
Eating for Eye Health: the Macular Degeneration Cookbook, co-authored with Sydney chef Vanessa Jones (2009)
Get in Shape: A complete workout for strength, health & vitality, co-authored with Lee Campbell (2007)
Motherguilt: Australian women reveal their true feelings about Motherhood, co-authored with Dr Penny Adams (2005; reprinted 2006)
How Much Is Enough? Your Financial Roadmap to a Happy Retirement, co- authored with Will Buttrose and Mike Galgut (2003)
What is Love? (2000)
A Word to the Wise (1999)
A Passionate Life (1998; updated paperback version published 2001)
Every Occasion: The Guide to Modern Etiquette (1985)
Early Edition: My First Forty Years (1985)
Introductions
Foreword: Martins, Ralph and Ragg, Mark. Understanding Alzheimer's: the complete Australian guide to the management and prevention of Alzheimer's (2013, Pan Macmillan Australia).
Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer was an Australian media tycoon, and was considered one of Australia's most powerful media proprietors of the twentieth century. The Packer family company owned a controlling interest in both the Nine Network and the publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later merged to form Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL). Outside Australia, Packer was best known for founding World Series Cricket. At the time of his death, he was the richest and one of the most influential men in Australia. In 2004, Business Review Weekly magazine estimated Packer's net worth at A$6.5 billion.
Sir Douglas Frank Hewson Packer, was an Australian media proprietor who controlled Australian Consolidated Press and the Nine Network. He was a patriarch of the Packer family.
The Daily Mirror was an afternoon paper established by Ezra Norton in Sydney, Australia in 1941, gaining a licence from the Minister for Trade and Customs, Eric Harrison, despite wartime paper rationing.
The Australian Women's Weekly, sometimes known simply as The Weekly, is an Australian monthly women's magazine published by Are Media in Sydney and founded in 1933. For many years it was the number one magazine in Australia before being outsold by the Australian edition of Better Homes and Gardens in 2014. As of February 2019, The Weekly has overtaken Better Homes and Gardens again, coming out on top as Australia's most read magazine. The magazine invested in the 2020 film I Am Woman about Helen Reddy, singer and feminist icon.
Cleo is an Australian monthly women's magazine. The magazine was founded in 1972 in Australia; the Australia and New Zealand editions were discontinued in February 2016. Aimed at an older audience than the teenage-focused Australian magazine Dolly, Cleo was published by Bauer Media Group in Sydney and was known for its Cleo Bachelor of the Year award. In June 2020, Cleo was acquired by the Sydney investment firm Mercury Capital.
Lisa Clare Wilkinson is an Australian television presenter, journalist, and magazine editor.
Mia Freedman, also known as Mia Lavigne, is the co-founder of women’s digital media company Mamamia. She was the youngest editor of the Australian edition of Cosmopolitan in 1996, aged 24.
Nene Claire King is an Australian journalist. She is the former editor of some of Australia's women's magazines, including Woman's Day, New Idea and Women's Weekly.
Rob Carlton is a Logie Award winning Australian actor and writer. He is best known for writing and starring in the comedy series Chandon Pictures. He also had starring roles in the comedy satire The Hollowmen and Netflix's television adaptation of Boy Swallows Universe. His father was Jim Carlton, Australian businessman, politician, and humanitarian.
Carla Maria Zampatti, was an Italian-born Australian fashion designer and businesswoman, and executive chair of the fashion label Carla Zampatti Limited.
Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo is a 2011 Australian two part television miniseries about the beginning of Cleo magazine and its creator, Ita Buttrose. The series stars Asher Keddie as Buttrose and Rob Carlton as Kerry Packer.
The Andrew Olle Media Lecture was established in 1996 by the presenters and staff at 702 ABC Sydney to honour the memory of ABC Radio and television broadcaster Andrew Olle, who died in 1995 of a brain tumour. It focuses on the role and future of the media.
Fran Kelly is an Australian radio presenter, current affairs journalist and political correspondent who hosted the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Radio National program Breakfast from March 2005 to early December 2021.
Kimberley Lynton "Kim" Williams is an Australian media executive and composer. He has headed a wide range of prominent organisations such as Musica Viva Australia, Foxtel, the Australian Film Commission, the Sydney Opera House Trust and News Limited. In 2024 he was appointed chair of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Anita Jacoby, is an Australian television producer and journalist.
Deborah Thomas is an Australian magazine editor and businesswoman.
Sharri Markson is an Australian journalist and author. She is investigations editor at The Australian and host of the Sky News Australia program Sharri, which airs 8-9pm Monday - Thursday. She is the winner of numerous awards in journalism, including two Walkley Awards.
Kirstin Irene Ferguson is an Australian author, columnist and expert in leadership and culture. She is ranked by Thinkers50 as one of the top 50 management thinkers in the world. She is also the creator of the #CelebratingWomen campaign. She is a former Royal Australian Air Force officer.
Sarrah Le Marquand is an Australian journalist and media commentator. She is currently the editor-in-chief of Stellar, a weekly magazine available in The Sunday Telegraph and Sunday Herald Sun. Le Marquand is also a regular guest and panellist on television shows The Project on Network 10 and Today on Nine Network, as well as a regular commentator on Sky News Australia, Q&A, The Drum, A Current Affair, The Morning Show, Sunrise and ABC Local Radio.
Diana Beresford Fisher was an English-born Australian journalist, television and radio presenter, social commentator and royal correspondent. Fisher is arguably best known for being a judge on The Inventors on ABC TV from 1970 to 1982.
↑ Martins, Ralph; Ragg, Mark (2013). "Foreword". Understanding Alzheimer's: the complete Australian guide to the management and prevention of Alzheimer's. Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia. pp.ix. ISBN9781742611983.
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