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01 Feb 2016
<div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>1 February 2016</strong><br />
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French Journalist and Author, Frédéric Martel said the internet was not global and did not dissolve barriers and threaten cultures but was very much localized and hence a collection of several internets. Addressing students at the Jordan Media Institute, Martel discussed his book “Smart on the Internets” as well as the chapter which discusses Smart Curation, a term coined by him which focusses on creating platforms for book critique.<br />
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He said the world has entered a new phase with social media where there is an abundance of information and much competition among journalists to give visibility to their articles. He told the students that websites were no longer significant as people access information through social media and hence journalists need to be able to promote their articles on different platforms to ensure maximum visibility. While outlining the vast number of platforms that are available, he urged students to appreciate good content, even if it were promotional or comical. <br />
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In response to a question by a student on whether the internet constituted a threat to journalists, Martel said that while it may terminate some jobs, it was already creating new ones. He urged them to always be ready to adapt to the developments and to learn new skills. Martel, who also presents a weekly show on French public radio, said every journalist should speak English, engage with youth, read books and try to travel as much as possible.<br />
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When asked about ways to protect the ethics and standards of journalism, Martel said codes of ethics varied from one medium to another and from one country to another. Therefore, regulations should be drafted locally, he added urging journalists to be sensitive to local cultures. <br />
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Martel has a PhD in Social Sciences and four master’s degrees in Law, Political Science, Philosophy and Social Science.<br />
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