April Fools stories

[HejiraHenry]

Just. Say. No.

 

[imjustagirl]

God help me.

 

[Versatile]

Now, are you opposing those obviously fake stories that some newspapers run, stories about April Fools pranks or both? Is there an appropriate way to address the demiholiday, in your opinion?

I have no problem with a spread on locals' April Fools stories or easy-to-do, last-minute pranks, provided the spread is in the entertainment section. It's a weak 1A centerpiece, but you can guarantee many newspapers will go that route.

 

[flexmaster33]

I used to think this was a funny idea...when I worked on my college paper. Not any more.

 

[HejiraHenry]

I used to think this was a funny idea...when I worked on my college paper. Not any more.

There you are. That's where you should get that out of your system.

 

[Steak Snabler]

 

[BillyT]

There are a couple on Romanesko (from weeklies), including the first one, which came on a tip from me.

http://jimromenesko.com/2012/03/30/examiner-com-snookered-by-april-fools-issue/

http://jimromenesko.com/2012/03/31/small-papers-april-fools-prank-has-wisconsin-in-an-uproar/

 

[steveu]

Waited for the Sidd Finch reference. Well played, Steak.

April Fools stuff is funny on shows like Price is Right. In papers, not so much.

 

[jackfinarelli]

The appearance of Sidd Finch in this thread is THE reason not to do April Fool's stories.

Unless you think you can write or run a story that surpasses "The Sidd Finch Saga", there is no point in doing it or running it.

Lisa Minnelli - - back when she could still sing - - was once asked at a club to sing "Over the Rainbow". She declined telling the patron, "It has already been sung - perfectly." I don't know that "The Sidd Finch Saga" was perfect, but it sets the bar for April Fool's stories so high that none have cleared the hurdle since...

 

[Steak Snabler]

The best part of "The Curious Case of Sidd Finch" is that the first letter of every word in the subhead spells out "Happy April Fool's Day — ah fib."

He's a pitcher, part yogi and part recluse. Impressively liberated from our opulent life-style, Sidd's deciding about yoga—and his future in baseball

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1119283/index.htm

 

[slappy4428]

There are a couple on Romanesko (from weeklies), including the first one, which came on a tip from me.

http://jimromenesko.com/2012/03/30/examiner-com-snookered-by-april-fools-issue/

http://jimromenesko.com/2012/03/31/small-papers-april-fools-prank-has-wisconsin-in-an-uproar/

A prank backfiring when stoked by a rip-and-read practice from local radio stations lifting copy from a newspaper?
Claude Rains, etc....

 

[Gomer]

The best part of "The Curious Case of Sidd Finch" is that the first letter of every word in the subhead spells out "Happy April Fool's Day — ah fib."

He's a pitcher, part yogi and part recluse. Impressively liberated from our opulent life-style, Sidd's deciding about yoga—and his future in baseball

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1119283/index.htm

Holy **** I never knew that. Awesome.

Our paper did one online-only, with the GOTCHA as the entirety of the turn. People here have come to expect something from us and doing it this way, I see no harm.

 

[Bubbler]

At my previous shop, it was a "tradition" to let the long-time columnist write an April Fools Day story. Management (locally-owned paper) lapped it up and any objections I had were waved off. I hated everything about it.

 

[Thomas Goldkamp]

We ran a story about a player who just finished his college playing career stealing a $3 taco and fleeing the cops two days ago. Surprisingly, a large chunk of our readership legitimately thought it was an early April Fools joke.

 

[Small Town Guy]

I admit it, I sort of like 'em. A few small dailies I used to read always did them on the front page and had done them for decades so maybe that was part of the charm. Doing it out of the blue for the first time now maybe wouldn't work and would simply make people vomit on their screen or crumple up their paper and light fire to it.

And I'm not sure why you can't do one just because of Sidd Finch. If we used that criteria, wouldn't that set the bar kind of high for any story? No one can ever write another Christmas story, especially an editorial. Why? Who's going to top the New York Sun's "Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus?"

You wanna write a play about death and revenge and indecisiveness? Forget it, unless you can top Hamlet.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

As a kid, I just remember reading the Finch story and thinking the Mets were going to have a helluva rotation with Gooden, Finch and Darling.

 

[Bubbler]

A competitor when I was starting out did an entire April Fools Day front page wrap. It included a fake story on how the mayor was giving up her re-election bid, etc.

They damn near got sued right out of existence. The disclaimer was there, but it was so small as to be barely discernible. They put this edition in racks, etc.

Awesomely stupid.

 

[Lieslntx]

A true April Fool's prank that was pulled on me by my then 10 year old daughter. It was pretty awesome.

I love to take bubble baths and I have quite the collection of bubble bath scents to choose from, usually about 20 bottles or so at any given time. My daughter (somehow, without me knowing and in the middle of the day) emptied out every single bottle of bubble bath that I had. That evening, as I am preparing to take a bath, she is hiding and watching me as I pick up a bottle, realize that it's empty, throw it away, pick up another, realize that it's empty, etc. After about 5 or 6 bottles, I am starting to get really pissed, as I don't normally keep an empty bottle. Her laughing from behind the door ticks me off further, until I come to realize that she had done that to every single bottle I had! She had put them into bowls and labeled them so that we knew which bottle to put each one back into. It was a pain to pour them back in, but I tried not to be too upset, as it really was a great joke.

 

[Thomas Goldkamp]

I got my college roommates pretty good one year. Scanned and printed up an old letter our apartment complex management had used and then replaced the body of it with an eviction notice, citing individual clauses of the lease we had violated and already been notified for (noise violation and something else I can't remember). Saved an old plastic wrapper they used to hang notices on our doorknob and slipped the letter in before I went out to class.

I was in class when the text messages started flooding in. One roommate texted me and after about two messages back and forth, I gave up the ruse. Second one, same thing.

The third one, I didn't hear from. So I get back from class and he's on the phone yelling at the top of his lungs at his mom, telling her this is total bull**** and getting really, really upset, threatening to bring the apartment complex to court, etc. After he gets off the phone, I ask him what's going on. He goes on like a five-minute rant explaining that we've been evicted. With a perfectly straight face, I told him we should call the office and talk to them to see if there's anything we can do before we freak out too much. He calls them and they literally have no idea what he's talking about. I can see the confusion on his face starting to grow. He hangs up the phone and I look at him and say "April Fools."

 

[MonsterLobster]

We ran a story about a player who just finished his college playing career stealing a $3 taco and fleeing the cops two days ago. Surprisingly, a large chunk of our readership legitimately thought it was an early April Fools joke.

It's been my experience that half the people in SEC country will call for the coach's head and the other half will say you're stirring the pot by reporting on it before the jury reaches a verdict and continue to live in blissful denial until then. April Fool's Day sounds like a wonderful excuse not to believe that one.