Pioneering Australians such as Henry Lawson, Banjo Paterson, Mary Gilmore, Norman Lindsay and Henry Parkes have been inducted into the Australian Media Hall of Fame.
The latest group of 28 inductees from the first 150 years of settlement also includes the founders of the Packer and Fairfax empires - Robert Clyde Packer and John Fairfax.
Another 50 media legends from NSW will be added to the Hall of Fame at a dinner in Sydney in November, joining 81 Victorians already included, while inductees from other states will be announced next year.
The characters named in the Media Hall of Fame - an initiative from the Melbourne Press Club - include drunkards, bankruptees, adulterers and failed farmers, who all helped shape the media landscape before and after nationhood.
MPC chief executive Mark Baker said journalism had enriched the history of the nation, playing a vital role in exposing corruption in all levels of government, business and other institutions for more than two centuries.
"The Media Hall of Fame shows how great journalism matters and is worth paying for, indeed is vital for the continued health of our democracy," he said.
"It is important that the public understands this when the traditional business models of journalism are being challenged."
Each of the journalists, broadcasters, photographers and cartoonists included in the Media Hall of Fame are celebrated through individual stories explaining the national or international impact they had in shaping Australia's history.
