CLEO magazine closes - after 44 years: Covers, Centrefolds, PHOTOS

NO!

It's time for CLEO magazine, the icon of Australian magazines.

It has been in our lives since 1972 - 44 years old, baby. She's my age.

SO many memories from this mag.

UPDATED: 'NO TRUTH. Read more here.

The article says:

Cleo’s website was shut down around late November/ early December, with traffic being redirected to the website of Cosmopolitan Australia, another Bauer Media title, however the spokesperson said the “digital and print run completely separate from one another” and there was “no announcement being made today” nor was anything expected to be announced regarding closure in the future.

“It is complete speculation at this point and we’ll be making no announcement to staff today or in the future,” he said.

Buying my first copy, at age 15 in 1987 - and I STILL have it. It was when Lisa Wilkinson - my woman crush to this day - was editor. It was SO scandalous at that time. Well, it was for a 15 year old!

Cleo talked: orgasm, and the clitoris, and lesbian sex, and sex positions, and ALL that stuff, most of which seems super tame today!

Of course, Ita Buttrose was founding editor, Deborah Thomas was once editor, and so many now household, iconic publishing names.

Says news.com.au:

ONCE famous for pushing the boundaries with sex tips and centrefolds, iconic Australian women’s magazine CLEO is set to fold after 44 years.

The Daily Telegraphreports several sources at Bauer Media Group, who publish CLEO, say the magazine’s editor Lucy Cousins and staff will be told of the closure today.

While a February edition is set to be published, it’s understood the magazine won’t continue after that.

The publication’s circulation has been on a steady decline, with monthly sales at 42,212 — down from 150,000 eight years ago.

News of the shut down follows a decision last January to merge the magazine’s editorial team with teen magazine Dolly.

In December, CLEO’s website was also quietly shut down, with users being diverted to Cosmopolitan.com.au — also owned by Bauer.

It continues:

While a Bauer spokesman confirmed the website’s closure to The Daily Telegraphthey said they had no announcement to make regarding the magazine.

It’s reported the annual Cleo Bachelor of the Year contest will continue under the Cosmopolitan umbrella.

Thought up by publishing giant Kerry Packer and Ita Buttrose in the 1970s, CLEO pushed the boundaries with nude male centrefolds and sex tips. It was also the subject of the 2011 miniseries Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo.

Here are some of the covers, including the VERY first:

  

And then, the centrefolds... oh, yes:

Yes, that's Tony Bonner. What's up, Skip?

Yup. Kyle Sandilands.

Ita Buttrose - founding editor! 

Lisa Wilkinson - longtime editor. And the one who abolished the centrefold. (photo: News Corp)

Thank you for the memories, Cleo!

Cleo December 2013: Cover + Sarah Ranawake Dating Story

The latest issue of Cleo magazine is out, and as usual, the magazine's approach to stories takes on a more investigative bent. Here is the December edition cover, showing Mila Kunis… no, wait! That's Sarah Hyland from TV's 'Modern Family':

This story, below, by the fab features director Sarah Ranawake on what dating is really like is an excellent read (her last day at the mag happens to be today, after several years there. She's an excellent writer and my old work buddy).

Here's the opening photo for the piece, in which she asks: do men really ever make the first move when they see you solo at various hotspots around town? Get the edition - out now - to find out what Sarah discovers about dating and men… (looking HOT Sarah):

What are your dating experiences around town? Tell...

Cleo magazine October 2013: "If you want to be a star, don't be too pretty" - Peter Meakin

The October 2013 edition of Cleo magazine has just hit the stands and among the brill investigative pieces this month is an exclusive interview with top TV executuve Peter Meakin, who says: "If you want to be a star, don't be too pretty." More on that below. First, the beautiful cover featuring Emma Watson:

After spending 40 years calling the shots at Channel Nine, Channel Seven and now Channel Ten, Peter Meakin tells Cleo what he looks for in a megastar.

His statement may shock: if you're too young or too beautiful, he's not gonna hire you.

"Super good looks can be distracting to the audience," says 71 year old Meakin. "Reporters have to be far more obsessed with the story than they are with their own appearance. If they're saying 'Look at me, look at me' and trying to get in every shot, I find it frankly annoying and I'm sure the audience does too."

For the full story in Cleo, go to page 71 of the latest edition.

Also in the magazine, Cleo investigates puppy sweat shops. Aussie people on welfare are turning backyards into 'third world' breeding grounds for puppies. These backyard breeders are selling dogs for tax-free cash on highways at a premium price to beat the Aussie welfare system.

The Cleo investigation has lifted the lid on this unregulated industry. Hundreds of puppies are being bred in Australian puppy farms and exported to Singapore where they are sold in pet shops for top dollar. Records show 987 dogs were transported from Australia in the last year alone. Animal welfare group 'Oscars Law' travelled to Singapore as part of this investigation to see first-hand the treatment of our puppies. Founder Debra Tranter says the puppies are stacked in cages and kept in sheds where they are mistreated and used for breeding.

Full story in Cleo magazine, page 77.

The October 2013 edition of Cleo is on sale today. Feel free to comment below on the topics above.