Eurovision Song Contest Media Master Classes
Eurovision Song Contest Media Master Classes
Overview
Produced by EBU Academy in collaboration with the Eurovision Song Contest, and kindly supported by SRG SSR and SRF.
If you’re a journalist covering the Eurovision Song Contest, get ready to level up your coverage!
During Finals Week in Basel, you have the chance to attend Master Classes at the Eurovision Academy.
Our team of renowned experts will sharpen your skillsets and teach new tips and techniques that you can use in reporting today and in the future.
From improving the footage you shoot on your smartphone to firing up creativity in your storytelling, our 2 hour classes are practical, fun and at 2 hours each you can fit them more easily into your calendar.
30 mins. of networking time will follow each class. A great opportunity to meet colleagues from across Europe and make valuable new contacts.
Open to all journalists and media students, choose from four Master Classes or take the lot!
MONDAY 12 MAY 10:00 – 12:00 CET
How to Verify What You See on Social Media
Rumours travel fast on social, so how to quickly decide what’s accurate and what’s not. Because audiences come back to their trusted sources. Derek Bowler heads up the Eurovision News Social Newswire team who take on this challenge everyday. Learn the fundamentals of fast verification and some of the tools to help you do this vital work.
TUESDAY 13 MAY 10:00 – 12:00 CET
Ways to Be More Creative In Your Storytelling
In a crowded content market, your fresh ideas will help you stand out from the crowd. EBU Academy Faculty Member, Justin Kings spent years in commercial radio and at the BBC challenging norms and telling stories in new ways. In his class he shares some of his techniques and reveals his checklist of what makes a compelling story.
WEDNESDAY 14 MAY 10:00 – 12:00 CET
Creating Quality Video With Your Smartphone
We can all use the camera and video on our smartphones but how to take your shooting from acceptable to awesome! Mark Egan was the founder trainer for mobile journalism at the BBC and he’s worked with many media to help them up their game. Learn what shots you need to tell a story, pro techniques and the apps to make your footage shine.
THURSDAY 15 MAY 10:00 – 12:00 CET
How can you use AI in Your Journalism
AI is here and journalists can use tools to become efficient, more productive and even bring new stories to their audiences. EBU Academy Faculty Member, Mark Egan has worked in this area for a number of years. His session is practical, giving you the knowledge you need to start experimenting and he reflects important ethical and legal considerations you must make.
These Master Classes are produced by EBU Academy in collaboration with the Eurovision Song Contest, with the kind support of the host broadcaster of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, SSR SRG and its broadcaster for German-speaking Switzerland, SRF.
Meet your faculty
Mark Egan
Speaker, Trainer, Media Content creator and Arsenal fanMark Egan has been working in media innovation for more than 15 years. As a former BBC journalist, Mark has created content for everything from TV documentaries to short-form social media content. Together with the EBU Academy he has been involved in training teams around Europe on how to stay on the cutting edge of artificial intelligence. He is also passionate about using technology to tell stories in a more creative way, from using archives to using AI for visual content. Mark has spoken on stages at major events around the world and runs regular workshops in-person and virtually from his home studio.
Derek Bowler
Head of Social NewsgatheringDerek Bowler is the Head of Social Newsgathering at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), where he leads a global team of digital verification journalists and OSINT investigations specialists.
He has over 10 years of experience in discovering, verifying, and clearing eyewitness media for the EBU membership and other media organisations. Derek has produced documentaries, investigations, and projects using eyewitness media and visual forensics. He has also co-authored Eyewitness Textures: User-Generated Content and Journalism in the Twenty-First Century, published by McGill-Queen’s University Press, and co-authored the EBU Eyewitness Principles and Guidelines.
He developed the Agile Newsroom event, a training model for visual verification skills, listed among the promising practices from Media and Information Literacy (MIL) training models in the Council of Europe’s Supporting Quality Journalism through Media and Information Literacy study.
Derek holds a BA (Hons) degree in Journalism and New Media from the University of Limerick, certifications in Terrorism and Counterterrorism from Georgetown University, and Intellectual Property Law and Policy from the University of Pennsylvania.
Justin Kings
Head of EBU AcademyJustin travelled the world, interviewing the world’s biggest music and movie stars, as Entertainment Correspondent for London’s Capital Radio. He has worked for 30+ years in the media, writing one of the first courses for broadcasters using social media and he created 10 editions of a popular TikTok and Journalism Master Class for the EBU. Justin is now Head of EBU Academy, providing learning and development for its Members and other media.