This term, LAE were honoured to host Stephen Bush, Associate Editor of the Financial Times, in a Q&A with students about his experiences and career in journalism.

Maryam and Rachayita provide an exciting account of the interview below: 

“Now welcoming associate editor and columnist at the Financial Times, a journalist who needs no further introduction... Stephen Bush!” we proclaimed, on the edge of our seats.  

Nervous. Thinking about how the interview could go disastrously wrong, but nonetheless, the show must go on. Thus, we began: “so, how did you get where you are today?”. It was a question he had been anticipating and one he answered at great length. Stephen spoke about his education, his time working for different news outlets and his move from The New Statesman to be Associate Editor at the Financial Times.

It was during this we realised our fears were misplaced, as the more he spoke, the more we both began feeling at ease. Stephen Bush was not the solemn, serious, and staid person we had imagined; rather, he was insightful as well as lucid, intellectual as well as charismatic. His observations were interesting and unlike anything anyone in the room had been anticipating: that the Green Party could one day rise to prominence, that perhaps it was time to change the electoral system, and that the Gaza War was not having as much of an impact on domestic politics as he initially thought.

We then delved into his background and the challenges he had to conquer during his rapid ascent up the mountain of journalism. His race, he said, had always been a point of contention, and often times also resulted in virtue signalling and misplaced stereotypes. He was very candid about this and at no point did he hesitate in sharing his experiences.  

The questions then become more light-hearted; he believes Barbie to be a comedic masterpiece. only in its first seating (perhaps it did more harm than good?). After this, there was still a critical question which needed answering, but which had to wait until the Q&A was over to put us out of our misery: what were his favourite movies? The answer, unsurprisingly, included love for recent hits such as ‘Spiderman into the Spider-Verse,’ ‘The Whale’ along with some brutal (although well-deserved) criticism towards ‘65’ starring Adam Driver. With our curiosity quenched, we bade him farewell.

It had been an amazing and insightful experience and one we were so proud to have been a part of. Thank you to FT Schools and Hamad Tahir for making it all happen.  

 Maryam Muneeb and Rachayita Thakur 

LAE students have free access to the Financial Times via the FT Schools programme providing them with a highly beneficial resource which can support their studies and broaden their knowledge of the world to help them prepare for interviews.