From The New York Observer
This column ran on page 1, April 16, 2001.

Wait—the parody is coming from inside…the…office! The few remaining staffers at Brill’s Content are giggling about the new Web site Brillsdiscontent.com, which launched late last week after the struggling media magazine merged with the bleeding carcass of Powerful Media. Brillsdiscontent.com parodied the last Brill’s Content issue (a stern analysis of the troubles at CNN) with headlines like “Declining readership. A leadership vacuum. Massive layoffs. Plummeting morale. Less news, more fluff. The inside story of Brill Media’s sudden slide.”

Must have been the work of some punk with too much time on his or her hands, right? Some kid at Columbia Journalism, probably. Nope—Brillsdiscontent was the handiwork of Frances Duncan, who, at least until press time, was gainfully employed as the Web site director at…Brill’s Content.

Ms. Duncan, a plucky 23-year-old from Merrick, Long Island, said she began working for Brill’s while still a senior at Sarah Lawrence College. Several of her close work friends had been canned in the post-merger meltdown, she said. In protest, one of Ms. Duncan’s colleagues suggested doing a parody of the CNN cover, and on Friday Ms. Duncan decided, what the hell. She paid 40 bucks to register the domain name Brillsdiscontent.com and said the whole thing was simple to set up. “I sort of have the resources at my disposal,” Ms. Duncan pointed out.

Of course, she could have a little bit more time at her disposal, too, if Mr. Brill takes her “Less news, more fluff” parody the wrong way. Ms. Duncan admitted to being a “little nervous” about potential repercussions, but so far, so good. “I haven’t yet had any wrist slaps,” she said cheerfully, adding that “I’m up in the air about the future of my position.”

Prospective employers take note: Ms. Duncan lives in New York, hopes to stay in a position that is design-related and would be open to either Web or print media. And don’t be fooled: She’s a dedicated employee. “I’ve had a good time redesigning the site and putting a face on Brill’s Content for the Internet,” she said.

– Rebecca Traister

In the days following the publication of this article, I was strangely awarded a promotion. When I finally did lose my job, it was in October of 2001, in another round of post-merger layoffs.