A nice example of how the press’s desire to believe the worst about Palin leads them to get things wrong. Step one: The Hollywood Reporter reports that she’s working on a “Planet Earth”-type documentary about Alaska for which cameras will follow her and her family around. Step two: Media outlets like Reuters pick up the news of a “reality show,” leading sites like Mediaite to wet their pants at the thought of the right’s blue-collar hero appearing in the sort of garish, low-rent, “Osbournes”-esque spectacle they’ve always imagined for her. Step three: The truth comes out.

The former governor, Mark Burnett (“Survivor,” “Expedition Africa,” “Eco-Challenge”) and Robert Barnett are in L.A. this week meeting with network heads about a documentary about Alaska. A source close to Palin says it is NOT a reality show of any sort, and NOT about her family, as some Hollywood media have speculated. It is about the people, geography, wildlife and wonders of Alaska. The source reports “great interest” in it from the nets. Meetings are yesterday and today with SIX networks.

In other words, it’s a “reality show” the way National Geographic specials are “reality shows.” Meanwhile, there’s a new scandal brewing: She and her chillbilly hordes descended upon an Oscar gift suite “like locusts,” grabbing everything their grubby little hick hands could handle. That’s step two of the scandal; step three is that she made a $1,700 donation to the Red Cross while she was there and, according to Andrew Malcolm of the LA Times, donated the swag she picked up to charity. As for the accusation that she wouldn’t let anyone on the scene take her picture, see C4P about that.

The exit question on everyone’s mind: What’s gotten into Juan Williams?