Prokhorov knows he has a high credibility hurdle.

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"Any industry that achieves high credibility across society has consistent standards for reporting outcomes so that a third party can judge whether you're doing a good job or not, " says Mike Alfred, chief executive of BrightScope.

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"There's no question that Ahmadinejad has lost a lot of credibility with the elite and with the high-level people, " Sick says.

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Takac laments the way high-speed downloading has changed the music industry, but loves how the Internet has given credibility to many up-and-coming artists.

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