As the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest approaches, the community media teams who have been following the Song Contest all year round are joined by the mainstream media as they bring the Contest to a much wider audience.

Yet these journalists have been working other beats and have other specialities throughout the year? How do they go about reporting on Eurovision with just a few days on the ground in Basel or at most two weeks in a tabloid newspaper's entertainment section?

Martin Belam is a reporter for The Guardian and is one of their experienced live bloggers. He has covered fast-breaking news stories, ongoing events, and major sporting moments. Once a year, he also covers the Eurovision Song Contest. Ewan Spence sat down with him a week before the Contest.

They talk about...

...how Martin started in journalism
...the ever-changing nature of reporting in the first decade of the 21st century.
...how liveblooging has become one of the new skills in a journalist's tool.
...how to prepare for liveblogging, including gathering information, stories, and quotes.
...the audience expectation when interacting with a liveblog.
...an obligatory reference to Ron from Sparks.

Ewan Spence and the ESC Insight team bring you the latest news from the world of the Eurovision Song Contest.