Buttrose, Ita

Ita Buttrose, in full Ita Clare Buttrose, (born January 17, 1942, Sydney, Australia), Australian journalist, editor, and businesswoman who was the founding editor (1972–75) of the highly popular Australian women’s magazine Cleo and the first woman to serve as editor in chief (1981–84) of the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph newspapers in Sydney.

Buttrose left school at the age of 15 to pursue her interest in journalism, first landing a job as a copy girl at Australian Women’s Weekly magazine and later working as a reporter and then women’s editor at the Daily Telegraph. In 1971 she was recruited by media magnate Sir Frank Packer to create a new magazine for his company, and the following year, with Buttrose at the helm, Cleo made its debut, generating controversy as well as spectacular sales with its nude male centerfolds and articles that emphasized women’s economic and sexual independence. In 1975 Buttrose was named editor of Australian Women’s Weekly—at 33, she was the youngest person ever to hold that position—and she served concurrently (1976–81) as editor in chief of both Australian Women’s Weekly and Cleo.

When Buttrose was hired by another media magnate, Rupert Murdoch, as editor in chief of the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph in 1981, she became the first woman to edit a major Australian metropolitan newspaper. At the same time, she became the first woman to serve on the board of directors of News Limited, the Australian arm of Murdoch’s global media holding company, News Corp. Buttrose eventually left News Limited to start her own company, Capricorn Publishing, in 1989. She also edited that firm’s flagship magazine, Ita, until Capricorn closed in 1994. Buttrose, who made frequent television appearances, became chair of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 2019.

Aside from her professional career, Buttrose devoted much of her time to raising public awareness of a range of social and health issues. As the chairman of the National Advisory Committee on AIDS (NACAIDS; 1984–88) and AIDS Trust Australia (1991–94), she was noted for her efforts to educate Australians about the global epidemic of AIDS and the spread of HIV. Her experiences as a caregiver for her father, who suffered from dementia, later led her to become involved with Alzheimer’s Australia and other organizations that provided support and advocacy for people living with chronic diseases. In recognition of her efforts to promote public health education and her groundbreaking career in the field of publishing, Buttrose was named Australian of the Year in 2013. Her autobiography, A Passionate Life, was published in 1998.