 In 1986 she was the editor of the Age's Friday 'Entertainment Guide' section (now known as 'EG'), then in 1987 she was the features editor of the short-lived Business Daily independent magazine.Articles by Cooke appeared in the 1980s in "Dolly", "The Australian Women’s Weekly" and "Cleo".In the late 1980s she began writing an etiquette column for "The Age" called 'Keep Yourself Nice'.