Nashville reporters Kim Kruesi and Jonathan Mattise got wind of an audacious plan by the state’s Republican House Speaker Cameron Sexton to reject federal education funding and quickly turned around a scoop that earned wide play. Mattise learned that the speaker had told a luncheon that he wanted the state to reject all federal K-12 funding, something no state has done. Kruesi got the same information from a different source. They landed an interview with Sexton shortly after and obtained audio of his luncheon comments. The next morning, they broke the news that scooped even Tennessee’s education-specializing news outlet. One of the state’s biggest newspapers, The Tennessean in Nashville, posted the AP’s story, as did the Daily Memphian in Memphis. National outlets, including PBS Newshour and The Washington Post, followed suit.
Nashville AP team lands scoop on lawmakers’ plan to reject federal school funding
House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, presides over the House on the first day of the 2020 legislative session, Jan. 14, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn.
AP Photo/Mark Humphrey