SASA VUCINIC: WHY WE SHOULD INVEST IN A FREE PRESS (00:00 – 11:07)
Sasa Vucinic
Sasa Vucinic, a journalist from Belgrade, talks about his new fund, which supports media by selling «free press bonds.»
PRE-VIEWING TASKS
- Discuss the following:
— What do you know about the military conflict that took place in the 1990s in the former Yugoslavia? (You may want to look for some details on the Internet).
— What is the role of the mass media during military conflicts?
2. Study the vocabulary notes before you watch the video:
- royalties — a sum paid to a patentee for the use of a patent or to an author or composer for each copy of a book sold or for each public performance of a work
- to strangle — to prevent something from growing or developing
- a return — a profit from an investment
WHILE-VIEWING TASKS
- Sasa Vucinic is telling a story about how his business started. Take notes about the details of three meetings related to its launch:
| participant(s) of the meeting | agenda of the meeting | outcome | |
| Meeting 1 | |||
| Meeting 2 | |||
| Meeting 3 |
- Tell briefly what kind of business Sasha Vucinic runs.
POST-VIEWING TASK
- Give an extended answer to the question:
How does the video clip shown at the beginning of the presentation illustrate the power of the news media?
In you talk, use the following expressions:
- an event seen from one / from another perspective
- to get the whole picture
- to twist information
- to distort facts
- to slant facts
- to shape public opinion
- to give a news event a particular spin
- to provide accurate coverage
2. Discuss in pairs:
1. Do you think it is possible for a mass media agency to be a totally independent source of information? Why?
2. What do Sasha Vucinic’s independent media fund and “Independent Diplomat” founded by Carne Ross have in common?