Ibrahim Al Syed (centre) handing over the course certificate to a student as Professor Martha Steffens looks on.

DOHA • The three-day media workshop on government and investigative reporting organised by Darinfo in cooperation with the University of Missouri, a leading school for journalism, ended yesterday.

The workshop generated a great deal of interest among those attending with the question and answer sessions after Professor Martha Steffens' lectures proving especially lively. Over the course of three days, subjects like media censorship, freedom of the press in general, how to combine questions at press conferences and the formation of journalistic associations came up for discussion. The topics were also hotly-debated.

Matters related to inflation and the rising cost of living in general which could be major factors in expected parliamentary elections this year were discussed at length.

Participants ranged from journalism, public relations and advertising students to reporters and editors of publications here.

Steffens, who has had vast experience as a reporter as well as an editor, provided helpful tips on investigative reporting, news sources and the importance of research and use of available data before embarking on and completing a story.

Dar Al Sharq Printing and Publishing Assistant General Manager Ibrahim Al Syed and Steffens gave out certificates on successful completion of the course.

Yahya Alawad A Adam, Darinfo Director, said: "Since our launch in 2005, we have trained more than 300 journalists in various fields of media through our seminars and workshops. These were on issues of local, regional and global importance."

A special wing has been set up by Darinfo to help candidates for elections here, such as those for the Central Municipal Council recently, by assisting in preparing election manifestos and publicity material.

"The workshop led by Professor Steffens and her husband Brian, represents a major step in the preparation for coverage of the Shura elections. We were honoured to have them with us helping in training and guiding journalists and those involved in other media-related fields," said Adam.