Andrew Jack – Global Education Editor, Financial Times
On this episode of the Down to Business podcast, Sharon Matusik, Edward J. Frey Dean of the Ross School of Business, sits down with Andrew Jack, global education editor for the Financial Times, to discuss the recent evolution of journalism as an industry and business education on a global scale.
The Business of Journalism
Jack highlights the dramatic transformation of journalism over the past few decades, particularly the shift from print to digital formats. With a majority of readers now online, media organizations are adopting various new business models beyond traditional advertising, such as subscriptions, events, and philanthropic donations. However, Jack shared that with so much content and so many independent sources, he has some concerns about the rise of misinformation and disinformation, advocating for stronger media literacy, more transparency, and regulatory frameworks to combat this issue.
“[Social and online platforms have] had a huge power in disintermediating, in disrupting. In many ways, it's been very powerful and valuable; any individual now can share their views and can have a form of outlet. Whereas before, it was much more difficult for them without the power of some sort of media or other organization channeling their views,” shared Jack.
“That ability to bring people together so that communities can form can be very positive. But I think when we look at some of the big election issues, wider societal debates, and individual consumers trying to reflect on products to buy or services to engage with, this move away from honest, objective, arm's length intermediaries towards output from individuals and organizations, where at the very best, there's often opacity about who's backing them.” Jack said.
Trends in Business Education
While discussing the expectations of business education, Jack shared his thoughts on the growing emphasis on preparing future business leaders to be resilient, adaptable, and problem-solving-focused due to technological advancements like artificial intelligence.
Jack also shared some insights on changing societal values. Among these changing values is an increasing interest in Environmental, Social, and Governance policies and improving socio-economic equity through business. Although these topics have faced backlash and politicization, Jack shared how these new areas of interest are impacting curricula and research across the globe.
“ESG has become a political football,” shared Jack. “There's no question that there are all sorts of issues and concerns methodologically about what it means, how it can be applied, and what the balance should be between investing in new approaches to mitigating the current situation in developing new ideas.”
“In other parts of the world, and of course, in many parts of the United States, the underlying issues that the label reflects in their best light are fundamentally important and are being taken very seriously by business schools such as yours, by incoming students, and increasingly also by employers…So, whatever the label, and however it can be misinterpreted, I think the underlying values, the core essence of those bundles of topics, are increasingly important. And we ignore them at our peril, albeit we need a critical framework to understand the structure to responsibly engage around them.”
Future of Business Education
To close the conversation, Jack gives advice to business school leaders on inspiring and educating the next generation. He encourages business and management schools to be as interdisciplinary as possible and stresses the importance of taking on students from a wide diversity of socio-economic backgrounds and different parts of the world.
Want to hear more from Ross students, faculty, and alumni?
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Business + Society: Michigan Ross professors discuss the business world and how it impacts our society. Each episode features a panel of featured experts addressing a current issue or problem facing our world.
Working for the Weekend: A deep dive into the daily life of part-time MBAs at Michigan Ross. Weekend and online MBA students discuss their experiences and advice for prospective and current students.
About the participants
- Host: Sharon Matusik
- Guests: Andrew Jack
- Executive Producer: JT Godfrey
- Audio Engineer: Jonah Brockman
- Editorial Production: Mads Henke
