Portland Press Herald or Bangor Daily?

Submitted by capt_jazz t3_10nol83 in Maine

Been living in Maine for a few years and I think it's time to subscribe to one of the big papers. Recently moved to Rockland where the local paper seems to be the Pen Bay Pilot, but would like a state wide news source.

Pros and cons of each? Are they known for different types of content? What's the Op-Ed page like? I'm interested particularly in the nexus of affordable housing construction, green energy, and public transit, for whatever that's worth. In terms of interest geographically, obviously I'm in the midcoast but I have friends and family in Ellsworth/MDI, but I want to be clued in to what's happening in Portland as well. I work for an civil/structural firm in the Portland area so it's good to know what's going on down there particularly from a development stand point.

Anyways, thoughts?

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Comments

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45test t1_j6a7da4 wrote

Portland Press Herald has more articles/political content/editorial letters etc but obviously has much more of a focus on Portland/Southern Maine. Local development and city politics are covered pretty heavily.

BDN has a wider angle looking at the state and carries more local news to your area, Ellsworth, downeast etc.

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capt_jazz OP t1_j6cqx2v wrote

Ok thanks, that's what my general understanding of the situation was

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Majestic-Feedback541 t1_j6a18sq wrote

Why not grab one of each at a store, check out the content, and see which you prefer?

Alternately, see if either offer a free week or something before subscribing online (when you choose one, just cancel the other)

I don't have money to do such things, but that's what I'd do if I did.

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capt_jazz OP t1_j6cqz47 wrote

Good point, I'll probably try subscribing to both for a bit

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GraniteGeekNH t1_j6a82cc wrote

It's getting unusual that a state with Maine's population has two sort-of-statewide newspapers of such relatively high quality. Many states are lucky to have one and some really don't have any.

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siebzy t1_j6aq1fq wrote

The BDN basically reprints every single one of Susan Collins press releases verbatim and is where all the right-wing nutcases go to get their fact-free opinion pieces published.

They have decent local coverage but that's overshadowed by their willingness to do damage control for psychopaths.

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Maine-iac_207 t1_j6alpwf wrote

If you live in Rockland you want to get the Courier Gazette and The Free Press for local coverage. My family who lives in the Rockland area prefer BDN, but either is fine for statewide issues. BDN does have more coverage on things happening east of the Kennebec river though. 👍

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capt_jazz OP t1_j6cr20o wrote

Thanks for the tip, I'll check out the two you mentioned

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secret-handshakes t1_j6dcebw wrote

Seconded on Free Press for some good local political content and events. It’s quite good (and the best fire starting paper around).

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lobstah t1_j6acpfs wrote

I live on MDI, and I subscribe to the PPH and the NY Times. The BDN is okay, but I never find much to read there that isn't found elsewhere for free. Emily Burnham and Aislinn Sarnacki are the exceptions, though.

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eburnhambdn t1_j6hy9f5 wrote

Hey thanks! We create lots of original content every day, FYI.

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lobstah t1_j6l0ljk wrote

Oh, I know you do ! We grab a paper every couple of days each week. Fun Fact : You actually interviewed me once with a photographer outside the Cross Center after I got a Covid shot...thankfully, my mug never showed up in the paper !!!

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Odd-Mountain3076 t1_j6aribm wrote

Saranski i know personally, she is an AirBNB baroness and stuck up as hell. The one reason I don't like BDN

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IamSauerKraut t1_j6bsvk7 wrote

If you know her personally then why do you not know how to spell her name?

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MaryBitchards t1_j6em1j7 wrote

The BDN tends to be where you'll see right-wing takes, so it depends how you feel about that.

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Candygramformrmongo t1_j6bdjtx wrote

Quality of reporting on BDN is better IMO. PPH feels dumbed down.

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SnooCrickets4626 t1_j6buxl4 wrote

What was the newspaper to which you subscribed before moving here?

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ecco-domenica t1_j6e8i9l wrote

Honestly, I think it's worth it to have both even though it's expensive for two. I've tried having just one or the other and it's frustrating. About a quarter of their coverage overlaps, but it's the other three quarters that's of interest. I'm in York County but from eastern Maine, so I want eastern Maine coverage. PPH is oriented almost exclusively to Portland/Cumberland County plus decent statehouse coverage, while BDN does better statewide of the two and has good political coverage. Between NYT and WashPo for national coverage, I think you've picked the right one.

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HSteeves t1_j6la2dc wrote

If you’re in Knox County you’ll want the BDN. It’s one of the last locally, family owned newspapers in the country :( Worth supporting.

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