In an era where audiences are exposed to an endless stream of news, videos, social media posts, and AI-generated content, standing out has become more challenging than ever. To better understand what separates unforgettable stories from forgettable ones, Presence News asked professionals from communications, technology, marketing, and nonprofit leadership one question:
What makes a story memorable in today’s media environment?
Their answers reveal a common theme: authenticity, relatability, and meaningful impact continue to matter—even as technology changes the way stories are created and consumed.
Ben Hemmings believes authenticity has become one of the most valuable qualities a story can possess.
“A story is memorable today when it feels undeniably real, because we are all swimming in content that could be staged, edited, or generated. In my work, after interviewing hundreds of people on camera, the moments that stick are rarely the most polished soundbites. They are the moments when someone stops performing, relaxes, and speaks from lived experience, with all the natural pauses and emotion that come with it. Audiences sense that shift instantly, and that believability is what earns attention and stays with them. In a low trust media environment, authenticity is not a nice to have, it is the difference between a story that passes by and one people remember.”
According to Hemmings, genuine human experiences continue to resonate in a media landscape increasingly shaped by polished production and artificial intelligence.
Elijah Fernandez
Co-Founder & Chief Technical Officer
CEREVITY
Website: https://www.cerevity.com
Elijah Fernandez sees memorable storytelling through the lens of both human readers and artificial intelligence.
“Memorable used to mean a story you’d retell. Today it increasingly means a story an AI engine will retell for you. I spend a lot of time on generative engine optimization for our network, and the pattern is clear: the content that sticks is the content a model can lift cleanly and attribute. A sharp claim, a specific number, a named source, structured so a machine can quote it without mangling it. The forgettable stuff is vague and hedged, which is exactly what both humans and models skim past. So I write for two readers now, the person and the model that summarizes for the next ten people. Make one quotable line that survives being pulled out of context, and the story carries itself.”
Fernandez suggests that as AI becomes a larger part of information discovery, stories with clear facts, attribution, and memorable quotes may have an advantage.
Jesse Harster
Vice President of Digital Strategy
MrTakeOutBags.com
Website: https://www.mrtakeoutbags.com
For Jesse Harster, memorable stories are grounded in practical results rather than promotional messaging.
“The best marketing doesn’t even feel like marketing. Think about that small cafe that used our packaging. Their takeout business took off because people started recognizing their bags. When you show real results from real actions, people notice. It’s not about some grand strategy, it’s about how you make someone else’s Tuesday a little easier.”
Harster emphasizes that audiences often connect most with stories demonstrating tangible outcomes and everyday impact.
Ginger Petrus
Marketing Communications Strategist
Beacon Nonprofit
Website: https://www.beaconnonprofit.com
Ginger Petrus believes relatability remains the foundation of memorable storytelling.
“What makes a story memorable in today’s media environment? Good or bad, it has something in it that relates to the reader.
Honestly, it doesn’t matter whether someone wrote it with a pencil and paper or used AI. Either way, it has to be relatable. People need a reason to care.
For example, I write educational content for nonprofit founders. To a lot of people, that probably doesn’t sound memorable. Even within my niche audience, most articles aren’t memorable on their own. My job is to connect the information to the real challenges founders are facing and give them a reason to keep reading.
The articles that stick with people are usually the ones that address something they’re already dealing with. They answer a question, solve a problem, or make someone feel understood.
Ultimately, memorable stories don’t just inform people. They resonate with them and give them something to take away long after they’ve finished reading.”
Petrus argues that regardless of the tools used to create content, audiences remember stories that solve problems, answer questions, or make readers feel understood.
A Common Thread
Although each professional approached the question from a different perspective, several themes consistently emerged. Authenticity, credibility, relatable experiences, measurable impact, and clear communication continue to shape the stories people remember. As artificial intelligence transforms the way information is distributed and discovered, these contributors suggest that the fundamentals of effective storytelling remain remarkably consistent: give people a reason to care, support your claims with meaningful details, and tell stories that feel real.
Presence News thanks Ben Hemmings, Elijah Fernandez, Jesse Harster, and Ginger Petrus for sharing their perspectives on modern storytelling.
