Ohio reporter mistakes PR flack for Hillary Clinton

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Reporters don't get much more boneheaded than John Goodall of Ohio's Tribune Chronicle. According to a correction published by the paper today:

Reporter John Goodall, who was assigned to the story, spoke by telephone with Hillary Wicai Viers, who is a communications director in U.S. Rep. Charlie Wilson’s staff. According to the reporter, when Viers answered the phone with ‘‘This is Hillary,’’ he believed he was speaking with the Democratic presidential candidate, who had made several previous visits to the Mahoning Valley.


It appears as though the newspaper has pulled the content off its website, but you can find a cache version here.

Among the quotes falsely attributed to Hillary Clinton:

‘‘It was great. We had an unbelievable turnout,’’ the presidential candidate said of the Canfield session. ‘‘There were 85 people in that small office.’’

Clinton said residents voiced their views on jobs, taxes, energy costs and the local “brain drain.” They were very concerned about the economy in the Mahoning Valley, she noted. ‘‘He’s holding these sessions because these are tough economic times,’’ Clinton, D-N.Y., said of Wilson.

‘‘Think of these as town hall meetings where you do more of the talking than I do,’’ Wilson said of residents. ‘‘Many of these sessions are scheduled over lunch. Pack a lunch bag, please join me and tell me your stories.’’

/Hat-tip Romenesko

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