What is a spy at Jane magazine supposed to do if she wants to alert the media snobs of a Brandon Holley folly? Normally, she could simply email Jeff Bercovici at WWD, and the item could get planted overnight. But if you've been emailing Jeff, here's what you'd see:

I'm off today, returning Monday, April 3. For anything time-sensitive, please contact Sara James, WWD's other media editor. She can be reached at 212-630-XXXX or XXX@fairchildpub.com.

So you email Sara, natch. But doing so will get you this pleasant auto-responder:

I am out of the office on Monday, April 3, returning Tuesday, April 4. For anything pressing, please contact my fellow media editor Jeff Bercovici at XXX@fairchildpub.com, or 212-630-XXXX.

Now what's a loose lipped staffer to do when there's nobody minding the store? Can you trust stringer Nina Jones with your sensitive gossip that's too gauche for Keith Kelly? Perhaps, but you might as well email us about it at this point.