2010 Miss America Pageant Puts the Spotlight On National Judges Saturday, January 30, 2010 Live from Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas, on TLC

LINWOOD, N.J., Dec. 7 -- The 2010 Miss America Pageant promises to be an exciting event with the announcement of the strikingly diverse panel of national judges. This year's panel of seven esteemed judges includes a Miss America turned opera singer and philanthropist; an accomplished actress; an Olympic gold medalist; a six-time Grammy nominee; the most listened-to radio talk show host in America; a successful comedian, and an American Idol finalist. They will evaluate the contestants from the preliminaries through the final night of competition, which will be premiering live from Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at 8:00PM ET live/PT tape-delayed, exclusively on TLC.

The judges were announced by Sam Haskell, III, Chairman of the Board for the Miss America Organization (MAO), Art McMaster, President and CEO of MAO, and Anthony Eaton, Producer of the 2010 Miss America Pageant. This year's panel of judges is comprised of experts in each of the fields that a young woman must excel in, in order to be named Miss America. Miss America must be talented, intelligent and well-spoken, a leader, have a commitment to her community, be contemporary in her style and fashion -- a relatable and individual 'it girl' who can connect with today's modern woman, as well as being physically fit. To determine who will be Miss America 2010 the following panel of judges has been selected:

From the Field of Beauty - Vivica A. Fox - Fox is an accomplished actress and producer that has appeared on both the small and big screens in every type of genre. She is currently the host of the new reality series, "The Cougar," and returned for the new 2009 season of Larry David's HBO hit comedy, Curb Your Enthusiasm as the feisty "Loretta Black." She is the recipient of numerous awards including the NAACP Spirit Award, the NAACP Image Award and Prism Award, the Trumpet Award for Outstanding Career Achievements in Film, the Lady of Soul Lena Horne Career Achievement Award and an MTV Movie Award. She was also named as one of People Magazine's fifty most beautiful people.

From the Field of Community Service - Miss America 2002 Katie Harman - Since her year, Harman tours nationally and internationally as an acclaimed classical and operatic vocalist with a myriad of opera and musical theater companies, symphony orchestras, and special events. Also a recording artist and television personality, she can next be seen in a principal role as a singer on HBO's Big Love (airing March 2010). An active cancer advocate, she serves on numerous boards of cancer organizations and hospitals and is the National Spokesperson for the Touched by Cancer Organization. Additionally, her philanthropic efforts target women's issues, homelessness, and arts education.

From the Field of Fitness - Shawn Johnson - Johnson is an 2008 Olympic gold medalist for gymnastics. She was named the 79th Amateur Athletic Union Sullivan Award recipient, one of the most prestigious honors in amateur sports and became the youngest ever contestant and season eight champion on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. Johnson is also involved in programs that promote healthy nutrition and exercise and help build good character amongst youth across the country.

From the Field of Talent - Dave Koz - Koz is a six-time Grammy nominee, multi platinum pop instrumentalist. Recently honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Koz hosts an afternoon radio show that's nationally distributed on the Smooth Jazz Radio Network as well as the syndicated Dave Koz Radio Show, now in its 15th year and airing on weekends in approximately 120 markets. He has served for 17 years as global ambassador for the Starlight Children's Foundation and is an ongoing member of the Board Of Governors for the Grammy� Foundation.

From the Field of Communications/Interview - Rush Limbaugh - Limbaugh is the outspoken, conservative and ultra-popular host of The Rush Limbaugh Show, an AM/FM radio show about American politics with an audience of 20 million. Limbaugh is involved in charities including the Marine Corps - Law Enforcement Foundation and the Leukemia Lymphoma Foundation. He is a best-selling author and was nominated in 2007 for the Nobel Peace Prize.

From the Field of Entertainment - Paul Rodriguez - Rodriguez is an actor and comedian whose career spans more than two decades and includes starring roles and featured appearances in over 40 films and countless television series and specials. Throughout his career Paul has remained involved with various charitable, civic and educational organizations including the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. As Chairman of the California Latino Water Coalition, Rodriguez was recently honored with a Humanitarian of the Year Award for his work on behalf of water conservation.

From the Field of Creating America's Rising Talent - Brooke White - White is a singer and songwriter who is most known for her appearance as a finalist on season seven of American Idol. She recently released her debut album, High Hopes & Heartbreak, in which she shares with the world, her love for the music that has shaped her.

Media who wish to cover the 2010 Miss America Pageant can download a Press Credential application online at www.MissAmericaPressRoom.com, where up-to-the-minute competition news and information, as well as downloadable high resolution images of Miss America 2009 Katie Stam and the 2010 contestants are located.

About Miss America

The Miss America Pageant - and the scholarship program itself - is among the most enduring endeavors in modern American history. From its humble beginnings as a "bathing beauty'" contest in the 1920s, the Miss America Organization today is one of the nation's leading achievement programs and the world's largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women. Last year, the Miss America Organization and its state and local organizations made available more than $45 million in cash and scholarship assistance, helping young women all across the country to reach their dreams and goals. For more information, go to www.missamerica.org.

About TLC

TLC's innovative docu-series and reality-based programming include favorites Jon & Kate Plus 8, Little People, Big World, What Not to Wear, 18 Kids and Counting, Say Yes to the Dress, and LA Ink. TLC added to its menu of programming with Cake Boss and Ultimate Cake Off, and continues to expand into the food genre. TLC's daytime lineup includes the Emmy Award-winning A Baby Story. The channel is available in more than 98 million homes in the US, nearly 8 million homes in Canada and through the website at www.tlc.com. TLC is part of Discovery Communications ( DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the world's number one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 170 countries.