The city has justified the secrecy with claims that releasing information about the candidates could hurt their careers, but research by the newspaper on other searches found no such effect.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) A Tennessee newspaper won an important ruling last week in a lawsuit that seeks to force the city of Knoxville to turn over records about its search for a police chief. Ruling on Tuesday, Chancellor John Weaver said the city cannot block the Knoxville News Sentinel from questioning officials under oath about the search, the paper reported .