In 1960, Randolph A. Hearst and his brother William R. Hearst, Jr. named the first program judges. The judges are professional journalists/editors whose valuable time and talents are generously volunteered to the program each year. Over the course of their three-year terms, they judge the work of thousands of students across the country. Judges are sent the entry materials and rate the work based on a point system. The assigned points are then sent to the Foundation where they're compiled and the students are ranked and notified of their placements. The following is the list of judges who evaluate the monthly and Championship entries in the writing, photojournalism, television, radio, and multimedia competitions of the 2010-2011 Hearst Journalism Awards Program. The program thanks the judges for this immeasurable contribution to the future of journalism.
| Writing Competitions | Affiliation |
| Peter Bhatia, Editor | The Oregonian, Portland, OR |
| Jennifer Sizemore, Vice President/Editor in Chief Executive Producer |
MSNBC.com , Redmond, WA NBC News |
| Ward Bushee, Executive Vice President & Editor | The San Francisco Chronicle, CA |
| Photojournalism Competitions | Affiliation |
| Ken Geiger, Senior Editor | National Geographic, Washington, D.C. |
| Michael C. Norseng, Photo Editor | Esquire Magazine, New York, NY |
| Geri Migielicz, Executive Editor | Story4.org, Ben Lomond, CA |
| Broadcast News Competitions | Affiliation |
| Fred Young, Former Senior Vice President for News | Hearst-Argyle, New York, NY |
| Ursula Reutin, Managing Editor/News Anchor | 97.3 KIRO FM , Seattle, WA |
| Kate O'Brian, Senior Vice President | ABC News, New York, NY |
| Multimedia Competition | Affiliation |
| Ursula Reutin, Managing Editor/News Anchor | 97.3 KIRO FM , Seattle, WA |
| Geri Migielicz, Executive Editor | Story4.org, Ben Lomond, CA |
| Jennifer Sizemore, Vice President/Editor in Chief Executive Producer |
MSNBC.com , Redmond, WA NBC News |

