By Jason Sethre
Publisher
Fillmore County Journal
jason@fillmorecountyjournal.com
I recall seeing those commercials when I was a kid. They started running in 1971, so that shows my age.
For the “Zoomers” out there, this was back when we used audiocassette tapes to record and listen to music. It was the more compact successor of eight-track tapes.
The brand Memorex touted the quality of their product as something that was indistinguishable from listening to live music. This encouraged competitors to raise their bar, and audio quality has only improved since then.
With that said, April Fools’ Day can be a Memorex moment for our newspaper.
I’ve worked at daily newspapers where the editorial staff schemes a prank story every year. As a weekly newspaper, our Monday publication date only lands on April 1 about once every five years. The last time was in 2019.
So, we keep the April Foolery to a novel minimum.
In 2019, we had the creative writing talents and imagination of reporter Rich Wicks on board to make for a legendary front page story about the Jesse James gang leaving behind over $300,000-worth of gold at the Historic Forestville State Park only to be “discovered” in the spring of that year. Rich and his family have moved down near the Des Moines, Iowa, area, where he writes for another newspaper. They really lucked out with gaining his time and talents. His Jesse James gang gold story had legs. It was believable to the extent that we received calls from other newspapers wanting to share this story in their newspaper. People were showing up at the state park with metal detectors to look for gold. We know because we received calls from the Historic Forestville State Park staff. And, there were others who continued with the prank, leaving gold spray-painted rocks around the region. Rich Wicks hit a grand slam that we may never be able to duplicate.
But, it doesn’t mean we won’t try.
In last week’s newspaper, we took a subtle approach. In case you missed out, here’s the list of “Easter eggs” we hid between the columns.
Page 20, a story written by “Al Knotreel” (a.k.a. Artificial Intelligence, no real) was a farce. There was no time capsule discovered in Chatfield, Minn. For this story, I used Chat GPT, a commonly used A.I. source. I asked for a 700 word count story about a time capsule discovered in Chatfield, Minn., and I requested names be used to make the story more believable. It’s pretty scary what A.I. can be used for, and how a completely fictitious story can be generated in a matter of seconds. It really makes me wonder what we will find on the Internet in years to come. There are already newspapers experimenting with having A.I. generate police reports, sports coverage, and general stories about the real estate market. This has been in the works for upwards of three years. Don’t worry, the use of A.I. to make up stories will only be exclusive to April Fools’ Day in our newspaper.
Page 41, SURGEON WANTED for new health clinic opening in the area. No experience needed. Must have own tools. Call 618-625-8313. (If you are a “Stranger Things” fan, you’ll want to give this number a ring)
Also Page 41, USED TOMBSTONE. Perfect for someone named Wymond Woodse. One only. Call 858-924-0180.
Page 43, WILL THE PERSON who got hit in the head with a tomato in the 1970s please contact 248-434-5508. (You won’t want to miss out on making this call)
Also Page 43, SWF DESPERATELY SEEKING a “Ric Flair kind of guy” who lives his life like it is still 1981. Someone who likes to play Donkey Kong on the Atari, and will watch Raiders of the Lost Ark with me over and over. Call Jenny at 507-867-5309. (Come on, sing it with me)
And, one more on Page 43; the ad for “Buy one divorce, get the next one 1/2 off, Call 505-503-4455” (Trust me, it’s worth the call if you are a “Breaking Bad” fan)
Hopefully, our readers had a little laugh with this cheap entertainment.
Our next opportunity to have some fun will be April 1, 2030. If you have suggestions, I’m all ears.
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