IQ News: Insider - At Work In The Park

Like Michael Kinsley before her, Kim Brown is one of the editorial pioneers who exited East Coast media circles to go west and and go online at Microsoft's Redmond, Wash., campus. At 36, Brown is also one of the more senior employees at Microsoft. Last year she and her family relocated from New York so Brown could join Microsoft's online adventure travel magazine, Mungo Park, as senior editor. Her office window at the Red West complex looks out on a large field. There's plenty of latte but no corner delis. On her wall is a send-off mock cover from Travel & Leisure, where she spent 10 years, most recently as a senior editor. "Oh No, Mr. Bill: How to Handle the Boss" runs one headline; another says "Sleepless-But Totally Wired-in Seattle." "They got it exactly right," she notes. "In more ways than one, that's what this job has felt like." Among issues that concerned Brown was convincing writers they wanted to write for the Web. At T&L, she assigned stories to such heralded journalists as Tim Cahill, Walter Kirn and Annick Smith. So far, luring talent to the Web hasn't been a problem. Brown convinced Tama Janowitz to go sea kayaking in British Columbia and file a report for Mungo Park's Wild Lit section. Annie Dillard will go to Antarctica for a feature in December. Robert James Waller went tiger trekking in India. Tom Clancy covered the Mir shuttle launch from the Kennedy Space Center. "It's new for these people," Brown says. "And for that reason it's intriguing." Microsoft also pays writers top consumer magazine rates to intrigue them. Brown has adjusted to the "coder" atmosphere, although she can't bring herself to wear shorts to work (she did acquire a pair of cut-off overalls). She parks her car on campus, eats in the cafeteria and wanders amid the landscaped waterfalls on coffee breaks. "Everything about the culture feels different," she says. "Everyone is 22. There's a great energy that comes with that." Many aspects of Brown's job, however, are the same as in her former print life: developing concepts, sending writers on assignment, editing articles. The difference is the medium and the questions that go into producing it. "It's a point in time," Brown says. "Ten years from now, we'll all know how to do this. But to be in it for the first time is challenging. I have major agents call and say, 'Kimberly, I'll be honest with you, I have no idea. . .' And we all feel that way."

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IQ News: Insider - At Work In The Park

Anya Sacharow

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Anya Sacharow