Courier Mail watch: Yesterday it was Warnie leading the News Limited tabloid’s website, today a Rafter. Doesn’t anything happen in Brisbane?

‘Social media fund’ invests in Twitter, Facebook and private sector

“Reports that J.P. Morgan is raising capital for a new so-called “social media” fund have been confirmed by sources close to the matter. The new fund will focus on privately held internet and social media companies like Facebook and Twitter, and is expected to have between $500 million and $1 billion in capital from wealthy retail investor, according to various news outlets.” — Forbes

Public trust in Australian media among worst in the world

“The Australian public’s trust in the media is lower than in virtually any other country, research released today by Edelman Public Relations suggests. According to the survey, only 32% of the Australian public trusts the media, compared to a global average of 49%.” — mUmBRELLA

Ten cooks up new deal for MasterChef

“Network Ten has signed a multi-year deal with Elisabeth Murdoch’s Shine Australia to retain the rights to ratings hit MasterChef beyond this year.” — The Australian

My year of covering news on Twitter

“One year ago, at the suggestion of my editors at Foreign Policy, I established a Twitter account associated with my blog, Turtle Bay. I obliged the request, but as a longtime newspaper reporter, I was skeptical that having access to a series of 140-character missives would change the way I report the news. Simply put, I was wrong.” — Foreign Policy

Teenager jailed in Syria for blogging

“Syria has sentenced a nineteen-year-old woman to five years in jail for writing on a blog that she ‘yearned for a role in shaping the future of Syria,’ per Reuters. Syria called it ‘revealing information that should remain hushed to a foreign country.'” — Jezebel

Manchester United become world’s most popular Facebook team

“Manchester United have become the world’s most popular team, as measured by fans on Facebook, the social networking site that has more than 600 million active users across more than 200 countries.” — Sporting Intelligence