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, the judges review the work of thousands of students across the country. Judges are sent the entries and evaluate the work based on a point system.

The assigned points are sent to the Foundation which announces the winners and disperses the scholarships and grants to the winning students and schools.

The following is the list of judges who evaluate the monthly and Championship entries in the writing, photojournalism, television, audio, and multimedia competitions of the 2020-2021 Hearst Journalism Awards Program.