If it feels like every brand is suddenly hiring a “storyteller,” you’re not imagining it.
A recent Wall Street Journal article, “Companies Are Desperately Seeking ‘Storytellers’,” described a sharp rise in companies using the word storytelling in job titles, from tech giants to financial institutions to nonprofits. In a fractured media environment and an era flooded with AI-generated content, organizations are searching for communication that feels more human, more credible and more real.
From our vantage point, storytelling has always been at the core of effective public relations, long before it became a buzzword in a job description.
Storytelling Isn’t New. The Stakes Are.
For decades, brands relied heavily on earned media to shape their narratives. Journalists acted as gatekeepers and validators. That landscape has changed dramatically. Newsrooms are leaner. Attention is fragmented. Brands now publish constantly through blogs, social channels, newsletters and video platforms.
The Journal captured the shift well: “Corporate America’s latest hot job is also one of the oldest in history: storyteller.” What’s changed is how much pressure brands feel to control their stories in a world where trust is harder to earn and easier to lose.
This is where public relations earns its seat at the table.
PR is not about producing content for content’s sake. It’s about understanding what should be said, who should say it, where it belongs and when restraint is the better strategy.
The Pushback Is Real and Worth Paying Attention To
There has always been some eye-rolling around corporate “storytelling.” Critics argue that not every brand narrative deserves to be called a story, and they’re not wrong.
Not everything is a story. Not everyone is a storyteller.
A press release stuffed with jargon isn’t storytelling. A blog written to satisfy an SEO checklist isn’t storytelling. AI-generated copy churned out at scale without perspective or judgment is not storytelling, either.
The problem isn’t the word. It’s the dilution.
Enter the Era of “AI Slop”
One of the most telling moments in the Wall Street Journal piece is the reference to “AI slop,” and the distrust it creates. We see this play out every day.
AI can summarize, draft and help analyze performance. Used the right way, it frees teams to focus on higher-value work, including strategy, message discipline and audience insight. What AI cannot replace is the human layer that protects a brand’s reputation and strengthens credibility over time. It cannot read nuance, sense risk or decide when silence is smarter than speed.
Authenticity is not something you can prompt.
Why PR Is Built for This Moment
Public relations professionals have always worked at the intersection of message, medium and meaning. We’re trained to balance brand priorities with public expectations, and to build trust across channels that don’t all behave the same way.
At Ghidotti, we often map that work through the PESO model: paid, earned, shared and owned media. Each element plays a different role, and the best storytelling rarely lives in only one place.
- Paid media extends reach through sponsored content, targeted social and strategic amplification.
- Earned media brings third-party credibility through reporters, trade outlets, awards and trusted voices.
- Shared media is where stories move through comments, reposts, employee advocacy and community engagement.
- Owned media is your foundation through blogs, websites, newsletters and videos.
This is why many of the companies highlighted in the Journal are not looking for novelists. They’re looking for narrative strategists who can translate complexity into clarity across platforms and who understand that credibility is built through repetition, discipline and proof.
The Humanity Gap Is the Advantage
As AI-generated content becomes more prevalent, brands that stand out will be the ones that feel unmistakably human. This is a call to use technology responsibly and keep people at the center of the message. The most effective communications strategies pair data with judgment, efficiency with empathy and automation with accountability. When audiences sense filler, they tune out.
Our Take
If companies are “desperately seeking storytellers,” it’s not because storytelling is new. It’s because credibility is harder to earn than ever, and the volume of low-quality content is training audiences to be skeptical.
Public relations has always been about helping brands show up with clarity, integrity and purpose. In an AI-saturated world, that role is becoming more essential, not less. And while job titles may come and go, the goal stays the same. The most powerful stories are built by people who understand both the message and the moment. If you’re ready to take a more intentional approach to how your story shows up, let’s connect.