Yes, it was an April Fool's Day joke.

Following yet another letter yesterday from Kansas Senator Sam Brownback to Viacom COO Mel Karmazin, The Howard Stern Show signed on this morning with an announcement from WXRK/New York GM Tom Chiusano.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I think you all know me, this is Tom Chiusano and I have to unfortunately read you the following announcement.  Due to the recent actions by the United States government and the Federal Communications Commission, The Howard Stern Show is no longer on our air. Neither Infinity Broadcasting or our parent company are willing to put our licenses or our stockholders' trust in jeopardy. Viacom can no longer bear the weight of the government pressures and its effect on our corporation. Please continue to listen to this station and other affiliates, as we appreciate your loyalty and understand your needs. While we are sorry to end The Howard Stern Show, we promise quality programming in the future."

In place of the Stern Show until about 7:20 this morning were Cross & Lopez - WXRK OM Robert Cross and WXRK deejay Danni - a feel good show that was the antithesis of Stern and his crew, promising "fun without the filth" and playing tunes from the likes of Beyonce and John Mayer .

When Stern returned to the airwaves (to a chorus of farts, no less), the joke was revealed and he spent the next 40 minutes talking with callers about how the prank could be reality soon. "If anything, this demonstrates what is going to happen here," said Stern.