Not buying it: It looked as if the Bangor Daily News had a great front-page story for Independence Day. The July 4 edition carried an article by reporter Diana Bowley on a businessman in Corinth who’d lost out to a Pennsylvania firm in his efforts to supply the state of Maine with American and state flags.

Walter Lougee claimed his bid was only $30 more than that of his successful competitor. He argued there should have been some flexibility in the rules to allow the awarding of state contracts to local vendors in order to keep more money in Maine.

Bowley’s piece did include comments from a spokesman for the governor’s office, saying that if preferences were given to Maine bidders, other states would retaliate by imposing similar restrictions. But most of the article focused on the aggrieved flag dealer and a state representative who supported him.

It wasn’t until July 10 that the Bangor paper got around to printing the full story.

In her second try at getting it right, Bowley reported that Lougee’s bid wasn’t a mere $30 higher than the winning offer. According to state documents (that she apparently hadn’t bothered to look at for the original story), the Maine dealer’s price was more than $1,700 higher. It also appears Lougee didn’t bother to read the bid proposal, which asked for twice as many flags as the year before. As a result, he failed to adjust his bid price to reflect the greater volume.

The follow-up story did put the flag dispute into some perspective by citing figures on how much the state spends on in-state and out-of-state contracts, and by noting the percentage of bids won by Maine vendors, information that was easily obtainable online and should have been included in the original piece.

Still missing from either article is the amount of extra tax money the state would spend if it awarded all contracts to Maine companies, even if there were cheaper alternatives available elsewhere. With that information, readers might be able to make a reasonable assessment of the validity of Lougee’s complaints about state purchasing policies.

Without it, even the second story is at half-mast.

Rich reporting: The July 10 Portland Press Herald featured a front-page story by staff writer Tux Turkel headlined “A surprising development,” reporting on the seemingly unusual success of the Tidewater Farm project in Falmouth, a mix of houses, condos, businesses and conserved land.

Surprising? Not hardly.

The article attempted to explain why lots and dwellings in this development were selling, while many other projects were struggling. Turkel listed the reasons as its prime location, its energy-efficient design and a deal between the developer and the former owner that kept financing costs in check.

Only after all the complimentary paragraphs does the story get to what could be the most important factor in the project’s success: It’s being marketed exclusively to rich people.

Or as the piece puts it, “Tidewater Farm isn’t affordable housing.”

According to Turkel, the average house lot in this wealthy neighborhood is $140,000. Some go for as much as $1 million.

It’s not “surprising” the rich have money. It’s sort of the definition.

Money back: According to the Associated Press, the Lewiston Sun Journal has wrapped up its six-month promotion of budget-cutting tips.

In association with the “Tough Money Smart People” feature, Sun Journal editor Rex Rhoades had offered readers a guarantee: If they didn’t save at least $200, about twice what a six-month subscription to the paper cost, he’d refund the money they paid for the Sun Journal.

Only three people took Rhoades up on his offer, including a guy in New Sharon who measures out his toothpaste. Talk about tough. I wonder if he washes his dental floss and reuses it.

The money-back deal earned the newspaper nationwide publicity. But did it attract any new readers? Rhoades isn’t sure. “The whole thing is unquantifiable,” he told the AP, “but our sense is it was a good thing to do.”

Sun shines: The Portland Daily Sun had a pretty good week. The free five-day-a-week paper scooped the Press Herald on the flower thefts from the Deering Oaks rose garden, and got Portland Mayor Jill Duson to respond to Web sites calling for her resignation because she didn’t alert other city officials to the legal problems of a planning board member.

Now, if the Sun could just stop running inconsequential press releases from local businesses (“Peaks Island Branch of Maine Bank & Trust marks one year”), it might have some chance of becoming a factor in the local media mix.

Al Diamon can be e-mailed at aldiamon@herniahill.net.

The views expressed on this Web site are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent the views of Down East Enterprise or its employees.