Stamford Magazine - First Impressions

I picked up a copy of the premiere issue of Stamford Magazine at the train station. Altogether, I found it chic and smart. As with anything, there's room for improvement. Here are my thoughts on its notable pros and cons.

Pros: The meat of the magazine is Grade A. The "Your Stamford" section is clever, dissecting the city's offerings into attractions for decorators, the fashion conscious, families and night owls. Each section includes an appealing city profile with a cutaway box for contact information. The "Downtown Rising" article puts new developments in historical and urban planning perspective and included some astute comments from Mayor Malloy. Jeff McNamara's photographs of the Bartlett garden are lush and vibrant. Always pleased to read good press on Barcelona - it's no secret that I'm a fan. There's also an artful local dining guide highlighting restaurant options from Shippan to Summer.

Cons: It suffers from a common magazine affliction - a very heavy advertisement hand. There are some noteworthy welcome messages, but they don't make an appearance until page 24. I found the Greenwich Hospital ad showing doctors spilling out of the MRI machine off-putting - do I want to put my life in the hands of folks using their expensive equipment as a jungle gym? The magazine was big on the "who's at the party" photo spreads, which always feel elitist and unwelcoming instead of community building.

The cons notwithstanding, Moffly Media does a stellar job conveying local information with polish and pizazz. We are fortunate that they've seen fit to focus on the city that works. Perhaps their sophisticated take on the town will make it work even better.