Designerly influence on politics and the press: Changing a deadlocked relationship

In recent years, political communication and political television debates have become farcical because of the professionalization of political communication. This has resulted in a deadlock between politicians, journalists and citizens, who appear to have fundamentally different goals. Consequently, television debates have become predictable, less focused on political argument, and far removed from their consequences in the daily lives of citizens. Drawing on empirical data from a workshop attended by a diverse set of stakeholders - journalists, producers, politicians, and media students - this paper presents the initial findings on how co-design and design games can take part directly in the ‘heat’ of democracy and make room for mutual understanding. In addition, the paper argues for new perspectives on design game research by demonstrating how prioritization, selection, and ‘reversal of perspectives’ can be incorporated into design games.