Back in college, I helped orchestrate a surprisingly believable radio prank that had much of our listenership in conservative Northeast Mississippi thinking that President George W. Bush had resigned. This was a plausible concept at the time–it was 2006, and by then, it seemed like half the president’s second-term cabinet had already stepped down.

The joke was extremely successful–more so than my cohost, Matt “The Watcher” Williams, and I would ever have predicted–but the results were two-fold: Liberals, moderates, and right-wingers with funny-bones thought the prank was both well-executed and entertaining, while some cranky conservatives called us unprofessional and wanted our heads on the proverbial (or literal) platter. The latter group apparently mistook our commentary- and analysis-based talk show for a straight-news outfit, and likened us to their most hated “liberal” media outlets du jour. This was definitely a weird experience for me, the quintessential moderate.

The show did so well that a lot of professional news organizations across the region took notice. Marty Russell, of The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, wrote in his article “We Can Learn a Lot From Journalists, Even When They’re Lying“:

[The show] was truly inspired. Not only did the students pull off a crazy April Fools’ prank, but they used it to have an honest discussion of Bush’s failings including the war in Iraq, FEMA’s problems, possible upcoming censure supported even by Bush ally John McCain, the Dubai ports deal, illegal wiretapping, etc., etc. And they used the feigned resignations to inform listeners about the line of succession, even speculating that it could come down to Donald Rumsfeld, as secretary of defense, who would become president. Not only was the broadcast inspired, it was pretty gutsy. Ole Miss is an extremely conservative campus. There are almost as many “W the President” stickers on vehicle windows as there are parking decals.

You can listen to the episode here:

Despite the minimal backlash from the occasional listener, the show was mostly very well-received, and here’s why: We followed my 3 Rules For Pranksters on April Fools’ Day. They are as follows:

1. Avoid pranks that cause emotional harm: The key to a good April Fools’ Day joke is to ensure that you’re not the only one who’s laughing. Playing a prank that results in embarrassment, ridicule, or plain old hurt feelings only serves to make you look like the fool. Note that during our radio show, we based all of our speculation on facts and real events. We never called names or did anything to make the president, the cabinet, or our audience look like jerks.
2. Do Unto Others…: Sometimes what’s innocent and funny to pranksters is insulting and hurtful to their prey. A general rule of thumb: If you’re not sure whether your target is going to take your jokes well, s/he probably isn’t. So, always put yourself in his or her shoes. Ask yourself, “How would I feel if someone pranked me this way?” If you wouldn’t like getting sucker punched, having your clothes stained or ripped, or being told your grandma’s goldfish died, don’t do these things to someone else.
3. OBEY THE LAW!: It seems like ever year, some idiot makes the news for taking April Fools’ Day a little too far. This time last year, two such idiots were Cele Carmona and Jerron Moffitt of Sebring, Florida. According to reports, the delinquent duo meticulously placed 70+ envelopes of “fake anthrax” (AKA baby powder) around town. The end result? Jail time and community service. (Sources: 1, 2) Remember: “April Fools’ Day” is not code for “Law Enforcement Happy-Fun-Time Vacation Day.”

   You can be sure that we were really careful with this one.

Most years, though, my pranks are so benign (read: lame) that I don’t really need to consider these rules too much.

Today’s joke had a few people going (even if it was just for a little while). Sadly, some of those folks deleted their comments when they realized I was kidding:

In February, we organized a show on Islam, which can be heard on the Rebel Faction portion of this site. Our guests were both qualified to discuss and passionate about the topic. Thanks to them, and to our own desire to ask questions that weren’t being addressed by North Mississippi press, we ended up with what I feel might have been one of our best shows this season. In fact, it’s definitely in my personal top three in terms of all of the shows we’ve ever done.

While Matt and I will both agree that The Rebel Faction was far from being a perfect show in terms of timing, production and even content, we have seen the evolution firsthand. The show was our playground for three years, and at the same time, it became our classroom. I personally learned more about radio and broadcasting in general by doing this show than I had ever learned in the classroom. There is nothing like hands-on experience.

We want to thank you, the listeners, for all you’ve given us. And, we want to thank you for this award. It might not be gold, but the competition was tough, and we’re certainly proud of it. Thank you.