The general idea of the narrative might be set, but many times I see a company’s response in the story.

You usually have some influence. Enough people are smart enough to read between the lines to make it worth trying.

Perfect example: I had to fire someone from staff rather promptly. The reasons were serious even that not responding to questions in timely manner would have been a fatal error for the convention.

Unfortunately, there are times you can’t opt out of the game because opting out is a response. Silence will be misconstrued as support.