Now it’s time for the big one. National Newspaper of the Year.

All national newspapers were automatically entered into this open category. The award has been judged in two stages in an academy-style voting system made up of a panel of 100 senior and highly respected figures from the wide media field. The ‘academy’ members were asked to assess each newspaper’s particular qualities and achievements throughout 2006.

The five finalists were:

• Daily Mirror
• The Daily Mail
• The Guardian
• The Mail on Sunday
• The Observer.

And the winner is….

The Financial Times’ Sheila McNulty has won her second award of the night, this time for Reporter of the Year. Earlier she picked up the Specialist Writer of the Year gong.

This award is for the story-breakers of the national press. The judges were looking for exclusives, expertly researched and brilliantly told for the target audience. Tenacity, investigative flair and an ability to handle different subjects carefully all scored highly

“She blew the lid on BP’s attempts to smooth over the scandal of its US disaster. It was proper, serious ground-breaking journalism of the sort that everyone who enters our trade hopes to emulate,” said the judges, who were unanimous in their decision.

The other nominees were:

• David Leppard, The Sunday Times
• Stephen Moyes, Daily Mirror
• Rajeev Syal, The Times
• Stephen Wright, The Daily Mail

Michael Tierney of The Herald is the Feature Writer of the Year.

Judges looked for a compelling style in reportage, colour writing, analysis and backgrounders.

“Of all the pieces in this category, Tierney’s moving article on his father’s condition was utterly outstanding,” the judges said.

The other nominees in the category were:

• David Cohen, Evening Standard
• Rachel Cooke, The Observer
• Jean Rafferty, Freelance
• Christine Toomey, The Sunday Times

The Guardian’s Patrick Wintour gets the trophy for Political Journalist of the Year.

The award is for the political writer with the best insight into British political life in 2006. Judges wanted to see agenda-setting journalism from knowledgeable well-connected writers.

The judges said Wintour was “consistently at the forefront of reporting the big political story of the year” and that he “produces insightful, knowledgeable, brilliant
agenda-setting journalism.”

The other nominees were:

• Kevin Maguire, Daily Mirror
• Matthew Parris, The Times
• Andrew Rawnsley, The Observer
• Simon Walters, Mail on Sunday
• Patrick Wintour, The Guardian

Ian Ridley says he is staggered to have won in the Sports category because he’s “really just a football hack”.

The Critic of the Year awad is for reviewers of theatre, dance, music, art, book, food, television and radio. The judges look for writing that enlightens, grips and entertains the reader scored highly in this category.

The winner is Craig Brown of the Mail on Sunday, whom the judges commended for his “breadth and depth across a diversity of subjects. Every paragraph he writes is perfectly balanced. Deep knowledge worn lightly.”

The other nominees were:

• Nancy Banks-Smith, The Guardian
• Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
• Tom Lubbock, The Independent
• Ally Ross, The Sun