In May, Hayden Panettiere's account of what happened after she spoke publicly about postpartum depression drew criticism of Neutrogena and then quieted. The company said nothing, and went on saying nothing for ninety days, until four days after her death in August. This episode is not about the circumstances of her death, which it does not address.
It is about the decisions an organization makes while a reputation problem still looks survivable: whether a problem that has quieted has been resolved, whether to investigate even when choosing not to speak, and how long an organization can wait before silence begins writing the public record for it. The interval between a problem quieting and a problem returning is the only period in which an organization holds every option it will ever have.
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On Repute is written and presented by Shrita Hernandez. The thinking, the writing, and the experience behind every episode are mine. Season One's visual edition is presented by a digital avatar built from my photograph and speaking in my recorded voice. Illustrative scenes are generated.
