Putting together a newspaper is hard. Getting the right sources, for instance. Or, in the case of the Sun, making sure lead headlines have anything to do with the stories that follow. Today's piece, "Bloomberg Meets with Leader of Red China," doesn't actually discuss the meeting at all — a minor mistake, but still. Rather, it covers a comment Mayor Bloomberg made later, at a press conference concerning street repaving in lower Manhattan: "I would certainly meet visitors from either country." Those words, according to the Sun, have China watchers all askitter because it goes against US policy of not recognizing Taiwan as an independent nation.

A gaffe? Maybe. As the Sun tells us on the editorial page, a gaffe is often a good indicator of a politician's real thoughts. But without anything else — elucidations, policy positions, what have you — gaffes remain gaffes. Slips of the tongues. Definitely not five-column headlines. And definitely not when those headlines purport to cover a meeting the story hardly even mentions.

But the Sun's real agenda here is to turn stale news into something fresh. By meeting with Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao, Bloomberg reversed Giuliani's policy of not meeting with mainland Chinese officials. A significant move, much more important than any off-the-cuff comment made in between questions about asphalt. But that's been in the works for months; it's hardly news. Nevertheless, the Sun fumbles the story by not reporting what went on at the meeting. On the first visit by a high-ranking Chinese official to New York in years, was anything important said? Readers looking for substance will have to look elsewhere.

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The Sun's headline woes continue in the below-the-fold inside box. "Nouvelle Vague: A crash course in criticism from a key crowd including Stanley Kauffmann of the New Republic and David Denby of the New Yorker. Page 8," reads the second item. But turn to Page 8 and — woops! — no story. There's Gary Shapiro's "On the Town." An AP bit on the New York state attorney general. An ad for Streetblimps. But no Kauffmann, no Denby. Talk about vague.

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WIRE WATCH: 25 stories, seven from the Sun. Not bad, all things considered. And that number jumps to eight if you count the opinion piece planted at the bottom of Page 1. And you should — it's from Tamar Jacoby, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, which is chaired by Sun sugardaddy Roger Hertog. She's practically a staff writer. Note to Sun: If you're going to shill for the Man, at least be subtle about it.