Political Communication under Disruption: Young Professionals on What's Next
Political communication in Germany is undergoing fundamental change. Yet so far, hardly anyone has asked how those who are just starting out in this profession are doing.
This white paper takes a close look at precisely that: how do young professionals experience political communication as a field of work?
This study is based on eight interviews with young professionals from politics, public institutions and consultancy. They describe their day-to-day, the challenges they face and how they see the future of the sector.
The result: purpose and structures are drifting apart. The respondents consider their work to be meaningful and increasingly relevant. At the same time, entry into the sector is largely through networks, career paths are unclear and recognition is unevenly distributed.
AI further exacerbates this contradiction. This polarisation also presents the sector with a dilemma: on the one hand, bolder communication is expected; on the other, caution is growing. On a positive note though, the respondents are level-headed and acutely aware of the challenges. They want a say in decision-making, knowledge-sharing, humanity and transparency.
The 8 key findings
1. Needed, but not supported. Employees are expected to keep their specialist knowledge up to date at all times. However, working structures and conditions are not keeping pace with this.
2. The route into the sector is via networks, not job adverts. The sector recruits primarily from within its own ranks. This constricts who actually gets in.
3. There are no fixed career paths. Whether you get ahead depends on networks and the right timing. This makes it difficult to work towards a specific goal.
4. AI isn’t taking jobs (yet), but it is taking away the learning ladder. When entry-level tasks are automated, newcomers lack the opportunities to learn the ropes.
5. Speed superseedes depth. Work is becoming ever faster, and this jeopardises the quality of political communication.
6. The democratic centre is caught between courage and caution. It should communicate more boldly, yet the fear of backlash makes it more cautious.
7. Judgement remains a human trait. The more AI takes over production, the more important the core of the profession becomes: critically evaluating, assessing relevance and establishing a genuine connection with people.
8. Knowledge-sharing must become a top priority. When AI takes over traditional learning tasks, the passing on of experience must no longer be left to chance.