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CBS Buys CNET For $1.8 Billion (Paid Content)
CBS is acquiring CNET for $1.8 billion. The purchase price comes to $11.50 per share, representing a 44.6 percent premium over last night's closing price of $7.95. The deal was approved unanimously by the CNET board and is expected to close in Q3. Said CBS CEO Les Moonves: "CNET Networks will add a tremendous platform to extend our complementary entertainment, news, sports, music, and information content to a whole new global audience."

De Lama Steps Down as Chicago Tribune Managing Editor for News (Chicago Tribune)
George de Lama, the Chicago Tribune managing editor for news and the first Latino ever to appear on the newspaper's masthead, announced today he is leaving the paper after 30 years. His successor will be Hanke Gratteau, who in March was elevated to deputy managing editor for news from associate managing editor for metropolitian news.

Rumors Swirl Over Post Buyout Deal (Politico)
Washington Post staffers have until Thursday to accept the paper's latest buyout package, and several names have trickled out already. But one notable staffer hasn't yet spoken publicly on his buyout decision: executive editor Leonard Downie. Rumors are rampant in the Post newsroom that he will make a statement imminently, though there are various potential scenarios being bandied about. FishbowlDC: Chronicling the buyouts.

Icahn Set to Clash With Yahoo's Board (NYP)
Carl Icahn is ready for battle. With today the deadline for nominating candidates to Yahoo's board, the billionaire agitator plans to move forward with his own slate of directors that includes former Hollywood mogul Frank Biondi. Biondi, the former CEO of Viacom, HBO, and Universal Studios, is no stranger to Icahn's proxy battles. "Frank and Carl are quite comfortable with each other," a source said.

Google Passes Yahoo in Popularity (AP via LAT)
Google has surpassed Yahoo to become the most popular Web site in the U.S., according to Internet tracking firm ComScore Inc.'s rankings by the number of unique monthly visitors. Google Inc. has long been the Internet's leader in search, but its audience has trailed Yahoo Inc.'s when counting other services such as email and photo sharing.

Bill O'Reilly on Bill O'Reilly's Meltdown (Radar)
Bill O'Reilly did in fact address the "tape" circulating on the Internet showing him performing what professional broadcasters refer to as a "complete hissyfit." Bill-O tackled the topic shrewdly, joking that he's contractually obligated to lose his mind several times a year for the amusement of his staff. O'Reilly goes on to say he's selling the "tape" and recordings of more recent meltdowns if anyone's interested.

CBS Strikes Deal With lonelygirl15 Creators (B&C)
CBS and EQAL, the production house behind interactive series lonelygirl15 and KateModern, struck a deal to create original programming for television and new-media platforms. The deal is not exclusive, but the network will get the first look at the company's multiplatform concepts. EQAL will also consult with CBS on how to take its programming and integrate it online and on mobile devices.

A Column's 45 Years (WaPo)
Robert Novak: Today is the 45th anniversary of the nation's current longest-running syndicated political column. I continue shoe-leather reporting — but with limitations. At age 60 I stopped entering war zones. I still occasionally go on the campaign trail, but not nearly so much as in past years. Nevertheless, at 77, I still make it my principal professional endeavor to find out what is happening behind the scenes in politics and government.

Pauley: I Hope Katie 'Finds Something in TV Where Her Strengths Will Be Used' (WWD)
As someone who knows the ins and outs of network news careers, Jane Pauley was reluctant to comment about Katie Couric's slippery CBS post Tuesday. But the former Today and Dateline host started out with a little schadenfreude. "I had a show that should have worked and didn't," she said. Pauley, the first woman to anchor the evening news in Chicago in 1975, implied Couric isn't solely to blame.

CBS Returns to Crime, Comedy Roots (THR)
Crime and comedy are coming back in full force to CBS' schedule next season as the network re-embraces the genres that have performed best for it in recent years. After taking a creative detour in the fall with outside-the-box concepts such as singing gamblers and vampire detectives, CBS is adding new crime procedurals and opening up another night of comedy.

Fox Will Bring Back Idol, and Add Sci-Fi (NYT)
Fox, the most-watched television network this prime-time season, will seek to make further gains with a new science-fiction-oriented drama from J. J. Abrams of Lost and a comedy about life at a luxury hotel starring Jerry O'Connell, according to people who have been briefed directly on the lineup that the network is expected to introduce on Thursday.

CW Fills Schedule With the Rich and Pretty (AdAge)
CW's goal for Year Two: target young women. The UPN/WB hybrid had a rough go of broadly reaching the youth demo last year, but the buzzworthy — if not ratings — success of Gossip Girl has the network chasing after the female segment in a bigger way this year. What's in store for next season? Lots and lots of pretty young things playing at being rich. Slate: The CW has a new 90210. OMG!

Mass Appeal Folds (Folio:)
In a refrain that's becoming all-too-familiar for niche music magazine publishers, Mass Appeal, the 12-year-old Brooklyn-based hip-hop and lifestyle magazine, is calling it quits. The 100,000-circulation title had recently published its 50th issue. Colossal Media, which owns Mass Appeal, will continue to publish a female-targeted spin-off, Missbehave, as well as Mass Appeal's Web site.

Gates Brings Journos to CEO Summit, So Where's the Coverage? (Seattle Times)
Brier Dudley: I'm not sure why Bill Gates brought so many A-list journalists this year to his annual shindig for business leaders to yack about the future of technology. Charlie Rose, Tom Friedman, Tom Brokaw, Michael Kinsley, and Maria Bartiromo are all mingling with the moneybags this year. But the big question is, if Microsoft's inviting select journalists behind the curtain, does that mean we'll finally get news coverage from inside the event?

Great Writers Whose Careers Were Ruined by Procrastination (Slate)
Jessica Winter: In their sustained anticlimaxes, Truman Capote's and Ralph Ellison's writing lives raise a perplexing question: What is the difference between severe procrastination and writer's block? Are they part of one continuum, like a Mobius strip? Were Capote and Ellison truly blocked, or did they merely delay so long that they ran out of time?