The police-press relationship has often been viewed negatively by law enforcement officials, who complain about the media's current widespread use of young, inexperienced reporters on the police beat, which the officials believe indicates that editors have de-emphasized the importance of coverage of police activities. This practice was examined to determine whether there is a relationship between the length of time a reporter has been covering the police beat and his or her reported access. Full-time law enforcement reporters (N=23) at Tennessee's 11 largest daily newspapers, as well as their primary official sources (N=30) within the metropolitan police and sheriffs' departments to which they were assigned, were interviewed in person during March and April 1987. Results indicated that differences between reporters and law enforcement sources in age, experience, and years in the community may account for some of the friction that exists in the police-press relationship in Tennessee. A common complaint was that young reporters did not understand police procedures and were often newcomers to the community. (Fourteen tables of data and 33 notes are included.) (MS)