A journalist recently smeared an organization I admire. Give a reporter a storyline, unearth some anecdotes, then generate supportive charts, and you have a front-page story. The article’s implied conclusions fit the liberal thirst for examples of regulatory capture, which are situations in which self-regulation by an industry creates supposedly lax regulation. Yes, the selected stories were true, as was a damaging chart. But the graphic required selecting definitions that favored the storyline. And the mistakes in the story would not necessarily be apparent to lay readers. Experts advise you be prepared for reputational damage before it occurs. Best practice is to understand where damage might come from and take steps to improve your brand to minimize risks and strengthen relationships to reduce damage. There is a reason why smart leaders hold proactive, off-record informational sessions with major influencers and invest in corporate…