A fan and trade magazine, The Picture Show sought to actively support the efforts of every branch of the Australian movie industry. It initially created a Screen Club to link 'the producer and the actor, the camera man and the producer, the scenario writer and the plot buyer', and reported regularly on the formation and activities of various federations of showmen and renters, recognising them as a 'protest against professional Bolshevism and Salary censors' (7 June 1919). From 1920, it published a trade supplement, mainly for exhibitors. It protested strongly against film censorship, but urged an 'appreciation of clean drama'. Possibly the most historically revealing of the early 1920s industry magazines, The Picture Show had a commitment to Australian and European films as well as American, and ran articles about movie-making in the Asia-Pacific region. It carried gossip about and news of the producers and stars, their movies, adventures, and fashions; had space for profiles of local personalities; and solicited correspondence and reminiscences from its readers. In October 1920, it claimed a Truth in Advertising audit of 7150 copies monthly.
