I once came across an article that I found to be really amusing. Looking up your business online is the simplest way to safeguard reputation but what if negative content cannot be removed? Would you consider creating new content that would then rank higher on the search results?
You raise a good point but my main concern would be whether or not the 'negative' content had some element of truth. It is even more worrying when the allegations raised have some truth in them. Nonetheless, creating new content to rank higher is a very good suggestion.