It hasn’t been the greatest week for MSNBC. First, Morning Joe was forced to go to a seven-second delay because the host let a four-letter word slip. Oops.

Then, anchor David Shuster thought he discovered the source who leaked news about Sarah Palin now knowing the difference between a country and a continent.

“Turns out it was Martin Eisenstadt, a McCain policy adviser who has come forward today to identify himself as the source of the leaks,” Shuster reported Monday.

Not so fast.

The New York Times reported yesterday that two filmmakers created Eisenstadt to help them pitch a TV show based on the character.

“The story was not properly vetted and should not have made air,” MSNBC spokesman Jeremy Gaines said. “We issued a correction on air within minutes of making the error.”

Then, this morning, MSNBC couldn’t figure out how to spell “below” — spelling it with an extral l. (See Peter Shankman’s photo for proof.)

Note to MSNBC: You want to be taken seriously as a grown-up media outlet? Start acting like one! (And, give Rachel Maddow as much air time as possible. She’s terrific!)

In the comments section to an earlier, my cousin Christina raised an interesting question abut MSNBC and the recent developments regarding Keith Olbermann and Chris Mathews being removed from their anchor position during election coverage. As entertaining as I find them, that’s probably the right decision.

In my opinion, I think the cable television has done a terrible job differentiating between reporting news and commenting on it. Lou Dobbs on CNN and Olbermann, Mathews on MSNBC (and probably people on FOX News … I just don’t watch that station) offer their opinions on the day’s events. That’s commentary.

Journalists are there to report the news to the American people. In this case, they are providing a valuable service — equipping us with valuable information to help us make an educated, informed decision when going to the polls. Networks need to draw a distinction between reporting and analyzing. Viewers deserve to get the news — just the facts … not an anchor’s opinion on the facts. That way, we can all make our own informed decisions.

That being said, I understand the need for commentators. These television stations are in a business and trying to turn a profit. Characters like Olbermann and Dobbs help ratings. I have no problem with that. But, the stations have a responsibility to inform viewers or readers about what’s news and what’s just one person’s opinion.

On a more local level, it’s disheartening to think about how much actual “news” goes unreported — either because it is too complicated for a 30-second slot on the nightly news … or because it won’t attract viewers. Very often, I’m working with clients who have great stories to share — some that are just interesting and others that actually impact the community. But, due to cuts in newspaper staff, or too much air time being dedicated to non-news stories designed to attract eyeballs, many worthwhile stories go untold.

I’d be interested to hear more reaction to this. What’s your opinion?

What does it say about our country when 88% of eighth graders in Washington D.C. can’t read?

Maybe instead of spending so much time talking about abortion, the Bridge to Nowhere or Palin’s hair and glasses, our politicians and media should focus more time on issues that impact people on a day-to-day basis — starting with education.

Any smart PR person will tell you that if you have a story that needs to be “buried” there are two ways to go — pick an incredibly busy news day so it gets lost amongst the clutter, or aim for a holiday when people aren’t paying attention.

Well, it so happens that today is a holiday and an extremely busy day — courtesy of Hurricane Gustav. This combination of factors makes it the ideal time to try to hide Sarah Palin’s controversial news. Her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant. Maybe one of these days, abstinence-only supporters will realize that approach isn’t exactly working.

From a PR standpoint, I guess it was kind of brilliant. Limit the damage by getting the story out there on a day when the media has shifted from politics to constant hurricane coverage.

For his part, Obama took the high road, asking the media to lay off these kinds of stories. As he pointed out, his mother had him when she was just 18. He believes families — and especially children — shouldn’t be subjected to the political scrutiny that comes with running for office.

We can only hope the media lay off the tabloid aspects of this story and let this 17-year-old girl deal with this challenge in private, but I hope the media uses this as an opportunity to closely examine Palin’s positions on associated issues like birth control and sex education.

There’s a lot going on today to write about, but I had a minor moral crisis today that I want to share.

First, some background: Caylee Anthony is a missing three-year-old girl from Orlando. About a month after she first disappeared, her grandmother finally reported her missing. The mother hasn’t been exactly truthful — nor helpful — leaving investigators in the dark. The mother is currently behind bars, not seeing visitors … and not providing information to investigators.

The story took an odd twist this week, when California bounty hunter Leonard Padilla — at the request of the Anthony family spokesperson, Larry Garrison, who also owns an entertainment production company and wrote a book about is involvement in the Natalee Holloway case — hopped on his white horse to save the day. (Background on Mr. Padilla: he’s the star of a Nat Geo show sensationalizing bounty hunting, a convicted felon, a failed candidate for Sacramento mayor, and known for pulling these kinds of publicity stunts.)He and his nephew are determined to bail out the mother, Casey Anthony — even fronting the $50,000 bail premium. Talk about creating a media circus. FOX News, CNN, Headline News — all the major television outlets have been following this story. And Leonard Padilla somehow has become the voice of the bail industry.

What does this have to do with me? Well, one of my clients is an insurance company that underwrites bail bonds. This company breaks every stereotype you may have about bail. The owners are good people and they hate the fact that the bail industry is misunderstood by so many people. Like much of the rest of the bail industry, they don’t agree with Leonard Padilla’s handling of this situation. Initially wanting to stay away from this story, my client decided Mr. Padilla couldn’t be the face of the bail profession (maybe his comment about Casey’s need to paint her toes was the last straw). He was single handedly damaging the industry’s reputation. She wanted to go on television to set the record straight and to explain that this isn’t how the industry works. At first, I was apprehensive about doing anything to get involved in this media frenzy. After all, a three-year-old girl is missing. Shouldn’t that be the sole focus? But, then I realized that Mr. Padilla’s antics have only taken the focus even more off of finding this poor girl. So, if I have a client who can help put him in his place — and explain that bail shouldn’t be wrapped up into “entertainment profiteering” — than I’m all for it. So, as I’m typing this, my client is getting ready to appear on Nancy Grace! Yes … that’s right … Nancy Grace! I’m not always the biggest fan of her approach, but I’m glad that she’s willing to listen to a sane person who can explain bail and it’s role in this kind of case. Hopefully, that will help put the focus back on finding Caylee.

Now that Tropical Storm Fay is moving on it’s time to go back to watching the Olympics. The second week is never as compelling as the first — I assume that’s why they’re dragging out the gymnastics event finals. Even so this has been the best Olympics that I can remember. Some observations:

• We knew there were serious problems in China, and try as they might, the Chinese weren’t able to hide their control-freak-like behavior behind a glitzy opening ceremony and remarkable competition. What is wrong with the Chinese leaders? First, they issue fake passports and “correct” old media reports to sneak underage girls into the competition. Then, they tell a remarkable singer that she’s not cute enough for television. What lessons are these girls learning about sportsmanship, self-esteem, fairness, compassion and honesty? I guess this glimpse into the Chinese way of life should shed light on why the country is the way is is.
• How great is Nastia? I think that’s my new favorite name. All the hype about Shawn Johnson, and Nastia’s the one who really put on a show.
• There aren’t words to describe Michael Phelps. Somehow, I’m going to work in “Phelpsian feat” into my vernacular. And, maybe I’ll even be inspired to take advantage of the pool at the gym. Are those thing clean??
• Commentators should get off their high horses and leave Bolt alone. Who cares that he was so excited as he officially became the fastest man in the world that he got a little expressive with his excitement? In a world of overguarded athletes afraid to say or do anything, we should appreciate Bolt’s pure joy.
• Love the Visa gold commercials.
• The woman who won the marathon was beyond impressive.
• The American athletes seem more humble this year. It’s a refreshing break from stories we normally hear on SportsCenter about ego-centric athletes. Heck, even Kobe and LeBron are into the swimming. It’s nice to hear Kobe say that it’s cool to be excited about wearing the red, white and blue. Go “Redeem” Team!
• It’s kind of weird that McCain is using the Olympics to attack Obama. Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to air a  positive piece — taking advantage of the captivated audience to shape his own image? Seemed odd to me, but most of what McCain does seems a little off to me.

Woo-hoo! Time for diving … gotta love the Olympics.