Beers’ joke creates a buzz in Reno

By J. Patrick Coolican (contact)

Tuesday, April 4, 2006 | 7:14 a.m.

An April Fools' joke pulled by gubernatorial candidate Bob Beers went awry when a Reno TV station didn't get the joke. The object of the prank, Rep. Jim Gibbons and his campaign manager, still don't see the humor in it.

The Beers campaign created an e-mail account, borrowed the Gibbons' campaign logo and sent out a phony press release that appeared to have come from Gibbons' campaign manager Robert Uithoven.

The release said Gibbons had switched his position on the Tax and Spending Control (TASC) amendment, which would limit government spending. Beers has championed TASC; Gibbons opposes it. At the bottom of the release, which used fake quotes to depict Gibbons as bumbling, the Beers campaign disclosed that it was "Paid for by the Committee to Elect Bob Beers."

KRNV Channel 4 in Reno ran the release as fact on its 11 p.m. Saturday newscast. A story based on the script of the TV segment ran on the station's Web site Monday morning for about an hour, Jon Killoran, news director, said. The station is conducting an internal review to determine how the segment ended up on the air.

Andy Matthews of the Beers campaign said it was all meant as a joke, which he said should have been clear from the disclaimer at the bottom of the release.

Uithoven isn't laughing. "When it's your name that's been used for the intent of misleading voters and the media, I take that personally. It's not about me though, it's about Bob Beers and his judgment."