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….