As I've been in the financial news industry for several years, I've observed that with the advent of the Internet, most companies had already become much, much better at press releasing negative news -- albeit with a PR spin. However, I think Regulation FD is a good thing, and sincerely hope that it doesn't get reversed.

It's a shame that regulators had to get involved at all though-- despite the new rule, I think it's important that shareholders continue to be diligent in watching the companies they follow, and demand that companies show integrity and come clean with their bad news. Many Reg FD 8-K filings contain press announcements that have already been distributed, which is a good sign that the company has been proactive in its disclosure, announcing the bad news before it is required to do so by the SEC.

But for companies that have not been so forthcoming, it's definitely a boon to individual investors and levels the playing field, so I do hope that the new SEC chairman won't throw out a rule that does so much for the investor on Main Street.