New Research from Avaans Media Reveals Regulated Industries Are Losing the Narrative War

A boutique PR agency's analysis of 1,327 news articles finds that nearly 7 in 10 stories in regulated sectors run without a brand voice

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, April 7, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Avaans Media, a boutique PR agency specializing in high-stakes visibility for growth-stage and regulated-industry companies, today released original research exposing a critical gap in how regulated industries manage media narratives. Titled *The State of Regulated Industry PR*, the study analyzed 1,327 news articles across five regulated sectors from 2023 through early 2026, and the findings are hard to ignore: 69.5% of coverage ran without a brand or company representative quote.

That means in pharma, cannabis and hemp, FinTech, supplements, and nicotine and tobacco, reporters are writing the story. Regulators are shaping the frame. And the companies most at risk are often the least visible.

The Numbers Behind the Gap

Of the 1,327 articles analyzed, only 405 included a brand or representative quote. The remaining 922 did not. Across every sector in the study, unquoted coverage was the norm, not the exception.

The disparity is sharpest in supplements, where just 8.5% of stories included a company voice. That's roughly 1 in 12 stories. Cannabis and hemp fared only slightly better at 19.8%, with 4 times more stories running without a company quote than with one. Pharma, despite its sheer volume of coverage (343 stories analyzed), still saw 69.4% of articles run without a brand perspective included.

Fintech and regulated technology stood apart as the benchmark sector, with 48.9% quote share. But even there, more than half of all coverage still ran without a company voice.

Regulatory Coverage Is Accelerating

The research also tracked the volume of regulatory-focused coverage across sectors over time, and the trajectory is steep. In 2023, 37 articles carried a regulatory focus. By 2025, that number had risen to 135. In just the first quarter of 2026, the dataset already contains 106 such stories. That's a 265% increase from 2023 to 2025, and 2026 is on pace to set a record.

Cannabis and hemp saw the sharpest spike in 2026, with 53 regulatory-focused stories in the first quarter alone, driven by rescheduling debates, Medicare and CMS coverage changes, and state-level bans. Pharma, fintech, and supplements are not far behind.

What This Means for Regulated-Industry PR

For companies operating under regulatory scrutiny, being absent from the conversation is not a neutral position, but a liability. As AI tools increasingly aggregate media coverage to inform investor sentiment, stakeholder trust, and purchasing decisions, the absence of a company voice in coverage is itself a signal, and not a good one.

"The data confirms what we see working with regulated-industry clients every day," said Tara Coomans, CEO and Founder of Avaans Media. "Regulatory pressure doesn't slow down while you're figuring out your communications strategy. The sectors with the lowest quote share are also the ones facing the most media scrutiny, and that's a warning. Visibility without strategy is noise, but silence during regulatory intensity is a different kind of risk entirely."

Methodology

*The State of Regulated Industry PR* analyzed 1,327 news articles published between January 2023 and March 26, 2026, across five regulated industry segments: pharmaceuticals, nicotine and tobacco, cannabis and hemp, dietary supplements, and fintech and regulated technology. Articles were sourced from publicly available media coverage datasets and coded for the presence or absence of a brand or company representative quote. Regulatory-focused coverage was identified through a keyword-based proxy applied to article titles, URLs, and metadata. The 2026 figures are year-to-date.

About Avaans Media

Avaans Media is a boutique PR agency built for companies operating in complex, high-stakes environments. The firm specializes in thought leadership development, earned media strategy, and narrative positioning for growth-stage, pre-IPO, and regulated-industry clients. Named an Inc. Power Partner PR Agency in 2023, 2024, and 2025, Avaans is 100% executive-led. Avaans Means Advantage.

Learn more at avaansmedia.com.

Tara Coomans
Avaans Media Public Relations
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