Twice voted Australia’s most admired woman, Ita was the youngest person to ever be appointed editor of the ‘Weekly’, an unprecedented successful Editor of The ‘Australian Women’s Weekly’, the founding editor of ‘Cleo’, the first woman to edit a major metropolitan newspaper in Australia as Editor-in-Chief of ‘The Daily Telegraph’ and ‘The Sunday Telegraph’, and the first female director of News Limited.

I’s safe to say most recipients of the Australian of the Year title would not have predicted their career trajectories, but for Ita Buttrose, her status as “media icon” is just one of the many surprises life has thrown her way.

I couldn’t have predicted anything. Life has been nothing like I expected. – Ita Buttrose

“When I started work it wasn’t envisaged that girls would have careers. It was just thought we’d work for a little bit, get married, have children and go home. I got married and had children; I just didn’t go home.

“I remember saying to my mother and aunt, ‘Perhaps I’d get bored if I didn’t go to work’. They said, ‘You won’t get bored, you’ll have the house to look after’. I wasn’t convinced,” she says.

Ita Buttrose – The Sydney Morning Herald

Though the argument against women working has changed, Buttrose adds her voice to the chorus of those who believe we’ve got a long way to go before achieving gender equality at work. “We need more women on boards. And we certainly need more women in senior roles. We’ve always been under-represented and we still are.”

In Ita’s view, management needs to change its perspective. “You need management to have a look at the way it’s running things. It’s not a difficult thing to do [gender equity on boards] but it starts at the top, with strong, effective leadership.

“You just need the will of management, and the boss … [who] is usually a man. “Still, women need to ensure they keep doing their part. “If you think you can do a job, the first thing to do is to let people know you can do it.

A lot of women don’t – they hang back and think they’ll be discovered. It doesn’t work like that; you have to put your hand up and let people know you’ve got ambition … I haven’t got a problem with emulating men in that regard.- Ita Buttrose

“When I arrive at a fork in the road I think, ‘Yes, I can do this. You must believe in yourself’,” she says. Of course, irrespective of how much we believe, not every project will turn out as hoped. But according to Buttrose, that’s not the point.

“I certainly started projects for the Packers and Rupert Murdoch and my own business that didn’t work … but you have to try and rock the boat every now and then. It’s important. Leadership is all about risks. You can’t let the fear of failure stop you from taking risks,” she says. When things are going wrong, seeking out advice can provide the solution.

I believe success in a career for either gender comes not just from passion, but also persistence, curiosity and self-belief. – Ita Buttrose

“Within your circle there’s usually someone you admire, and whose opinion you respect. Seek them out and say, ‘I’m not finding my way through this, I wonder if I could bounce some ideas around?’ Sometimes that’s all you need to clarify your thought processes,” she says.

Kerry Packer described Ita Buttrose as a ‘dedicated and brilliant journalist who has achieved greatness in her industry very early and so quickly’ and ‘a jewel beyond price’.

Cold Chisel wrote a song about her. Rupert Murdoch was so impressed by her talents, he asked her to be the editor-in-chief of both the Daily and Sunday Telegraphs – and in doing so, become the first woman ever to edit a major Australian metropolitan newspaper.

Media Mogul Kerry Packer loved Ita Buttrose

Acknowledged for her brilliant and ground breaking media career, Ita Buttrose now dedicates her considerable energy and skills to championing medical education and health care. Starting her career as a copy girl at the Australian Women’s Weekly, she quickly became a cadet journalist at the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph. At 23 she was appointed women’s editor at The Telegraph and in 1971 was promoted to founding editor of Sir Frank Packer’s new women’s magazine Cleo. It was an instant hit, becoming the top selling monthly women’s magazine and propelling Ita to national celebrity status. Three years later Ita was appointed editor of Women’s Weekly and in 1989 became the first woman editor of an Australian metropolitan newspaper – the Murdoch owned Daily Telegraph and later the Sunday Telegraph – and was the first woman appointed to the News Ltd Board.

Ita founded Capricorn Publishing and The Good Life Publishing Company and created ITA Magazine. A founding member and former President of Chief Executive Women, Ms Buttrose has written 11 very successful books, including her best-selling autobiography A Passionate Life. (Recommended Reading – Heels Agency)

A Passionate Life

In her extraordinary career, spanning over fifty years, Ita Buttrose has been involved in every aspect of the media, from newspapers and magazines to television and radio and now, electronic publishing. From her creation of a new type of women’s magazine in Cleo and then ITA, to her appointment as the youngest-ever editor of The Australian Women’s Weekly (a distinction she still holds today), a passionate love of journalism has driven her every step of the way.

Refreshingly candid about the challenges she has faced as a professional woman, not only in her career but also in her love life and as a mother, A Passionate Life describes those ground-breaking years with Ita’s trademark clarity, precision and wit.

In this substantially revised and expanded edition, Ita also shares her views on current affairs and the state of the media today, including an insider’s perspective on the Murdoch empire. We hear about her significant recent contribution to various health awareness campaigns, particularly Alzheimer’s Australia; her coverage of the 2011 royal wedding; her new incarnation as a rap star; the making of Paper Giants and her recent venture into the new territory of electronic publishing.

An appealing and lively autobiography by one of Australia’s most distinguished journalists, A Passionate Life will strike a chord with working women everywhere.

Ita Buttrose has been a much loved household name for many years. Ita has been there, done that and sums up some of her experiences in the following ways.

On the future…

Over the years I’ve discovered much to be passionate about. There is still much I want to do. I have numerous dreams. – Ita Buttrose

On making a difference…

Never think you are too small to make a difference, have you ever been to bed with a mosquito. –  Ita Buttrose

On set-backs…

Only a loser finds it impossible to accept a temporary set-back. A winner asks why. – Ita Buttrose

On ego…

That’s the difference between men and women. Men have egos and we don’t. – Ita Buttrose

On challenge…

I can push myself physically, just as I push myself mentally. – Ita Buttrose

On limitations..

Even though you get a little twinge every now and again with the years marching on and become aware of your own mortality, you realise you’re only limited by your imagination. – Ita Buttrose

On life…

Some people mourn their youth in amazing ways and some people get a bit disgruntled about getting older. But you know it is a passage of life and I think if you look at it positively you can enjoy it. –  Ita Buttrose

On age…

The reason women are always reluctant to reveal their age is because other people label them as ‘past it’. In the 21st century, women over 60 are not past it – we are vital, active, sexual beings, living life to the full. – Ita Buttrose

On being Australian of the Year…

 It’s fantastic, as it’s allowed me to meet Australians from all walks of life. – Ita Buttrose

Moments in Time

Ita Buttrose-Featured-Sunday Style Magazine

“Getting a job was something girls did before they got married and had children, and then they quit and went home and became housewives and mothers.”

“I became a housewife and a mother too, but I kept working.”

‘‘Of course, when I fell pregnant with my son Ben, the timing wasn’t so good. We had the launch of Cleo.”

‘‘In those days they seemed to think pregnancy was some kind of illness. They really had some bizarre ideas. They assumed we would be sick, and wouldn’t be of any use at work. And of course you’re not sick, you’re just having a baby.”

“When I worked in newspapers and magazines it was a good age of print,’’ Buttrose says, with a hint of nostalgia in her voice.

‘‘It was a lot of fun working for the Packers, actually.”

‘‘It was a company with a great sense of humour.”

“To be working on a magazine like Cleo with members of the opposite sex, it was a learning experience for all of us.”

She describes the ’70s as ‘‘an exciting time’’.

‘‘Women suddenly realised that, in a sense, there was nothing we couldn’t do if we set our minds to it.”