For the last few months, I've been receiving a copy of "Hartford" magazine in the mail. I'm not a subscriber, so I really don't know why it's been coming. And thank goodness I'm not, because, in my humble opinion, this "magazine" isn't worth the paper it's printed on.
Each month seems to bring a new round of "who's who and who's doing what" in the Hartford area. These are essentially photos of various Connecticut "celebrities" at parties around town. It's like the society page of the NY Times with lesser known names and in glossy color. I'm guessing that most of us couldn't care less.
The articles are more like advertisements than anything else. It seems as if each month brings another "Best of...." article. If it's not restaurants, it's dentists. If it's not dentists, it's physicians. If it's not physicians, it's "Best Towns to Raise Children." I'll tell you this. If I were a dentist or physician in the area, I'd be pretty upset about these types of articles. They seem to be nothing more than popularity contests, and often leave very good and very qualified practitioners out. Add to that the fact that the article pages are often surrounded by ads for various medical and dental offices, and it leads one to wonder just how "objective" these puff pieces are.
About the only thing worthwhile is the monthly restaurant listing. Some of the eateries are reviewed, others are not. And advertisements also appear on the same pages as restaurant ratings. But at least I know the addresses and phone numbers of places I might want to dine at.
So if you're not getting this mag for free, as I assume most others such as myself are, don't waste your money buying it. Better to visit the local public library, where you can peruse it at no charge.
