Public Relations Crisis Management

noun the action of damaging the good reputation of someone; slander or libel

• The company is suing for defamation after false information was spread about their products.
• She was spreading lies about him, that's defamation!
• Don't listen to her, she's just talking smack - it's all defamation.
• His reputation was shattered, like a glass hitting the ground, by the defamation.

noun the act of speaking about someone or something in a way that shows strong disapproval or lack of respect

adjective disparaging

• The company will not tolerate any disparagement of its products by competitors.
• Stop with the disparagement, it's unnecessary and unhelpful.
• I can't stand all the haters spreading disparagement about her.
• His constant disparagement of himself was starting to affect his self-esteem.

noun a visit made by a journalist or reporter to the home of someone who has recently died in order to obtain a news story

• The journalist went to the family's home to conduct a death knock and gather information for the news story.
• I heard that the reporters are planning to do a death knock on the deceased's family.
• The media is always looking for a juicy death knock to sensationalize.
• The company's poor financial performance was like a death knock for its investors.