Being on the end of breaking news is not easy and sometimes nigh impossible, but you can try things to cushion the impact of what is coming. Example (1) is the Evening Standard story (all other papers picked this up) about a software problem that may have caused millions of Lottery winners to be underpaid. The Commission had to show it had the matter under active investigation and handled this one well. The eventual outcome can be found on the category of Mark's PR notes under burying bad news! (2) This typically lurid headline in the Daily Mail is one we can't see and it bedevils any organisation when its staff or supporters put their foot in it, intentionally or otherwise. Good briefing is the prevention; damage limitation is what comes after. But that depends on the extent of your influence on the source of the story. We made the best fist we could to defend this eminent philosopher Baroness but ultimately the damage was done. (3) The Sunday Express reported gambling hysteria ...well...i think we did get a single phone call.... this story was all headline and no trousers, as the extensive quote from me shows. The issue never raised its head again which is a sure sign it was pointing in the wrong direction at the time. (4) The Daily Express also tried to run some knocking copy against the Lottery Commission - it was open season on us at that time - but again extensive quotes from me provided a helpful balance and context. The lesson from the last two pieces is that the headlines oftyen betray the news story. If you are a casual browser to this web space, take heed!