Definition: In this task, a passage will be given and the goal is to identify an event from the passage. An event is defined as a single word representing something that happened, is happening, or may happen. An event can be factual or hypothetical, positive or negative, certain or uncertain. While most events are based on verbs, an event can also be based on a noun (ex. storm, snow, rainfall) or a copula verb (is, was, been, etc.). The event must not be a pronoun or an adjective. For noun events with multiple words, use the last word in the phrase as event.
Input: Passage: Jerry Steinman, publisher of Beer Marketers Insights, a trade newsletter, said Anheuser's announcement means "everybody else in the industry is going to have a difficult time reaching their profit objectives." Prudential-Bache Securities Inc. analyst George E. Thompson downplayed the importance of the announcement, and called any comparison between the coming beer-industry tiff and the seemingly unending "cola wars," unwarranted.

downplayed