Sport is in the headlines for all the wrong reasons as professional cycling gets its head around the conclusion by MPs that Sir Bradley Wiggins abused drugs to enhance his performance. Clearly it’s a distressing and frustrating moment for all clean athletes and their representatives. So much more than individual reputations is at stake: trust in whole sports, sporting associations and federations, agents and competitions is vulnerable, not to mention commercial interests such as sponsorship deals.

As the shockwaves of Oxfam’s sexual misconduct scandal continue to reverberate painfully throughout the NGO sector and beyond, the charity’s very survival is in doubt.  This horrifying story is a brutal wake-up call.  Even an organisation built on more than seven decades of inspiring, selfless work by employees, volunteers and supporters can see its reputation quickly trashed when its response to a crisis is botched.

Formula One has played a PR blinder by skilfully steering the story preoccupying critics and fans alike.  In the wake of coverage of the notorious Presidents Club, attention has inevitably turned to other industries, as journalists develop the story.  Liberty Media, which owns the rights to Formula One, has handled the situation with aplomb, recognising that many view ‘grid girls’ as outmoded, undignified, even offensive and announcing that it was “at odds with societal norms”.  It also recognised that some fans, including many ‘grid girls’, would disagree with the decision to dispense with the practice of employing “glamorous” women to stand prettily next to cars, while male racing drivers, male motorsports engineers and mostly male F1 team bosses went about their multi-billion pound business.

Now more than ever the fight for editorial coverage is fierce, as brands compete with not only the news agenda but also a barrage of competing stories from other organisations all looking for their slice of the coverage pie.

2017 was a challenging year for editorial cut through, with a national election, terror attacks, natural disasters and a royal engagement.

So how can brands make sure their stories are editorially compelling?

As Facebook makes adjustments to the algorithms, essentially prioritising posts from the user’s family and friends and making assumptions into what they will be most interested in. Brands and publishers are most likely to find this change the most challenging. Posts from publishers will not be prioritised, favouring social interaction instead