Part one of ABC1's mini series Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo aired tonight in Australia, starring Asher Keddie (Nina, Offspring) as Ita Buttrose, Rob Carlton as Kerry Packer, and former Home and Away actress Jessica Tovey (ex-Belle Taylor) as Leslie Carpenter.
Paper Giants is the story of the creation of Australian women's magazine Cleo. ABC Australia website provides the following synopsis:
In 1972, two ambitious, young upstarts, Ita Buttrose and Kerry Packer, created Cleo, a bold and naughty magazine that became one of the most dramatic sensations in Australian publishing history.Bold and naughty is right! Cleo was the first magazine to feature a naked male centrefold (Australian actor Jack Thompson), which in 1972 was very risque. Even still, the centrefold was not full nudity, with Thompson's hand artistically draped over his body. Regardless, the idea of publishing a nude male centerfold in a women's magazine had the tongues wagging - Cleo was accused of being the female equivalent of porn! And all because it educated women on birth control, sexual pleasures and featured an almost naked man. The shame!
Paper Giants concludes with part two tonight (Monday) at 8.30pm (AEST) on ABC1.
