CNET
American company; tech media website
CNET (short for Computer Network) is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. CNET originally produced content for radio and television in addition to its website before applying new media distribution methods through its internet television network, CNET Video, and its podcast and blog networks.
Founded in 1992 by Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie, it was the flagship brand of CNET Networks and became a brand of CBS Interactive through that unit's acquisition of CNET Networks in 2008. Following acquisition by Red Ventures on October 30, 2020, the website faced criticism for what was described as a decline in quality of its editorial content and factual reliability due to the use of generative AI in the creation of its articles, as well as concerns over its journalistic integrity regarding increased publication of slanted reviews and sponsored content to benefit its advertising partners. On October 1, 2024, CNET was acquired by Ziff Davis.
History
Origins
After leaving PepsiCo, Halsey Minor and Shelby Bonnie launched c/net, a 24-hour cable network about computers and technology in 1992. With help from Fox Network co-founder Kevin Wendle and former Disney creative associate Dan Baker, CNET produced four pilot television programs about computers, technology, and the Internet. CNET TV was composed of CNET Central, The Web, and The New Edge. CNET Central was created first and aired in syndication in the United States on USA Network. Later, it began airing on USA's sister network Sci-Fi Channel along with The Web and The New Edge.
The public source identifies “CNET” as american company; tech media website. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around CNET, American and company.
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Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1544247. VIAF identifies the subject as 145624829. The Library of Congress control number is n2004101923. 3 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 3 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1992, 2008, 2020 and 2024.
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This entry incorporates text from “CNET” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.