So Rod Blagojevich isn't going to prison--at least not for a while, perhaps not at all.

In the corruption trial of the former Illinois governor, the jury returned with one guilty verdict that he lied to the government. The jury deadlocked on the remaining 23 counts against him. This means the government can--and most likely will--try him again.

How did Blago manage to skate--for now--on 23 charges from the federal government? Charges that were bolstered by the ex-governor's own damning statements on tape. He might have public relations to thank for part of that.

Blago's attorney, Sam Adam, Jr.--the same lawyer who helped R. Kelly walk on charges that he did awful things with an underage girl--based part of his closing arguments on Blago's tendency to talk.

"If you put Joan and Melissa Rivers in the room, you wouldn't get that much talk," Adam said in his closing statement.

If the jury didn't believe that Blago was a talker--that he'd go on any talk show that would have him; that he'd blabber for hours on his own radio show; that he'd talk to any reporter, any time--then Adam's argument wouldn't hold water.

At this point, it's unclear if that is the real Blagojevich, or if the countless media appearances were a strategy of his legal team and PR counsel, led by Glenn Selig, or even if all those talk show moments swayed the jury at all.

But let's just say they did. And let's suppose Blago isn't the kind of guy who would shuttle to New York and back to be on The View--that instead his PR team talked him into this. And then let's assume the jurors all saw this and thought, "That guy sure likes to hear himself talk."

Suddenly, all that mouthing off the governor did seems brilliant.

Smart PR either helped an innocent man avoid the bogus charges, or it helped a guilty man cheat the system. Stay tuned.

What did you think when you first heard a newscaster say, "Ground Zero mosque"?

Were you shocked? I was.

I'm all about the First Amendment, but any religious edifice--be it mega church, synagogue, mosque, Scientology lair, whatever--on the site of the World Trade seems odd. There were Christians, Jews, agnostics, atheists, and Muslims killed inside the World Trade Center. Why not a non-denominational worship center? I thought.

And then I stayed tuned.

When the cable news channel returned from break I learned that a group didn't plan to build a mosque ("community center," actually) on Ground Zero, but near Ground Zero, two blocks away. Big difference. Calling it the "Ground Zero mosque" is a misnomer. But dropping "Ground Zero mosque" in a headline or teaser--just as I did--sure grabs the eyes, doesn't it?

Problem is people rarely read below the headline or listen to the full report, especially when it's not about Mel Gibson's ex or Heidi Montag's plastic surgeon. As PR professionals, you know that all too well. How often does your boss or a client call to complain about a possibly misleading headline, even though the actual story is clear and positive? You're left calling the reporter or editor to complain. And guess what they're saying about you in that newsroom? "What an asshole."

I digress.

Would this debate have happened if the media continually referred to it as the "mosque near Ground zero"? Hard to say--but we'll never know.

Do not ask an English teacher a stupid question before she's had her coffee.

On Sunday morning, Lynne Rosenthal, a college English professor from Manhattan, visited a Starbucks and asked for a "toasted multigrain bagel." The barista asked, "Do you want butter or cheese?" Rosenthal became enraged, reports the New York Post.

"I just wanted a multigrain bagel," Rosenthal told the Post. "I refused to say 'without butter or cheese.' When you go to Burger King, you don't have to list the six things you don't want.

"Linguistically, it's stupid, and I'm a stickler for correct English."

Police officers arrived at the Starbucks to subdue Rosenthal, according to the the Post. She claims she was tossed from the store, but Starbucks refutes that claim.

This is why I have my coffee before I leave the house.