Part of my job is to routinely scan publications to keep up with the news from our sector.  In the past few months there has been a good deal of coverage of stories such as the launch of the Gates-Buffett Giving Pledge, the first selection round of the Social Innovation Fund and the closure of Unitus. These stories are fascinating because they show a growing interest in giving and its impact on society. The other side of this coin, however, is that all of the topics mentioned received their fair share of negative media coverage.

Considering these stories within the context of my work as an adviser, I noticed that large organizations tend to weather the storm of negative media coverage because they can tap into communications structures that can respond (satisfactorily or not) to criticism and requests for transparency quickly and using a variety of media.