I write reviews for a city magazine and have been thinking about this for a couple of days, since seeing your post. I write my reviews two to three months before my magazine hits the stands. It's unfortunate, and surprising given the state of technology, but somehow it still takes monthly magazines a long time to go from filed article to published work. If a chef changes, or a restaurant closes, that's a disaster. But, in most cases, even if menu items change, readers can still get an idea of the types of foods that are on the menu, and of the level of quality. Maybe they can't order the rosemary chicken I wrote about, but they'll have an accurate idea of whether the restaurant is worth visiting. Not checking facts: There's no excuse for that. But the timeliness issue is an unfortunate result of an old-fashioned form of publishing. By the time a team of editors polish every piece that will be published, hire photographers, have the pages designed and proofread, etc., many many weeks have passed. I'd imagine that the industry will find a faster way to work eventually, but right now every glossy magazine I know works on the same kind of schedule.
