NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has steadily reduced his availability for media questions during his first 100 days in office and instead has increased his use of photo-only events throughout the state.
The governor's diminishing access emerged in a review by The Associated Press of the Republican's press schedule since he was sworn into office in January.
Lee's office has denied public record requests seeking the governor's schedule, claiming that such documents are exempt. However, Lee's team does notify reporters about his availability each week.
Over time, Lee's schedule has seen an uptick in events marked "photo only," meaning he won't take any questions. In February, only of one of Lee's 27 press events was marked as photo only.
In April, 14 out of Lee's 25 press events were photo only.
