Mediagazer: Comcast to Acquire General Electric's 49% Common Equity Ownership Interest in NBCUniversal (Comcast Corporation)

7:40 PM ET, February 12, 2013

Top News:

Andrew Beaujon / Poynter:

Jonah Lehrer talks about plagiarism at Knight lunch for $20,000 fee — At a talk this afternoon in Miami, Jonah Lehrer acknowledged his plagiarism and fabrications and talked about how he hopes to redeem his reputation. Lehrer read prepared remarks and answered questions from Knight Foundation President …

Jeff Bercovici / Forbes:

Jonah Lehrer Thinks He Can Humblebrag His Way Back Into Journalism — Can you outsource integrity? Jonah Lehrer thinks so. In fact, that's his plan for reviving his career as a big-idea science journalist. — At a seminar hosted by the Knight Foundation on Tuesday afternoon …

Discussion: JIMROMENESKO.COM, The Huffington Post and ArtsBeat

Erik Wemple:
Knight foundation president: Lehrer's $20,000 not controversial

Discussion: The Huffington Post

Kara Bloomgarden-Smoke / The New York Observer:

Jim Roberts Goes to Reuters — Jim Roberts, who took the Times buyout last month, is going to Reuters. Mr. Roberts will be the executive editor of Reuters digital, Reuters digital editor Chrsytia Freeland announced in a staff memo today. Mr. Roberts was the Times assistant managing editor and has a devoted Twitter following.

Justin Ellis / Nieman Journalism Lab:

Jim Roberts, Reuters' newest hire, on the digital side of the NYT, paywall math, and next steps — Judging by his pace on Twitter, little has changed for Jim Roberts over the last three weeks. The links to news near and far, on topics both timely and unearthed, are coming as rapid as ever.

Brian Stelter / Media Decoder:

Comcast Buying G.E.'s Stake in NBCUniversal for $16.7 Billion — Comcast said Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire General Electric's remaining 49 percent stake in NBCUniversal for approximately $16.7 billion, — completing a sale process that was expected to take several more years.

Discussion: Bloomberg and DealBook

Comcast Corporation:

Comcast to Acquire General Electric's 49% Common Equity Ownership Interest in NBCUniversal — Comcast Corporation CMCSA +0.85% CMCSK +0.89% announced today it will acquire GE's entire 49% common equity stake in the NBCUniversal joint venture for approximately $16.7 billion.

Discussion: VentureBeat, TVNewser, paidContent, Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, AdAge, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, The Huffington Post, bizjournals, The Next Web, Reuters, @bobbymacreports, The Verge and Gizmodo

Steve Schaefer / Forbes:

Comcast Beats Estimates, Boosts Dividend And Buys The Rest Of NBC From GE — Comcast was quite busy after the closing bell Tuesday, releasing fourth-quarter results that beat the Street's consensus estimate, hiking its dividend by 20% and launching a $2 billion share buyback.

Discussion: Media & Entertainment, Broadcasting & Cable, Radio & Television …, The Wrap, CNET and Hillicon Valley

Julia Ioffe / The New Republic:

Ezra Klein: The Wise Boy — A tale of striving and success in modern-day Washington. The first time I interviewed Ezra Klein, the 28-year-old prince of D.C. media, he brought me a sandwich: prosciutto on a poppy-seed baguette. (Also, chips and a beverage.)

Discussion: The Awl, @alecmacgillis, @richbeck, @kimblem, @seanmdav, @simonowens, @abumuqawama, @conorsen, @daveweigel, @jayrosen_nyu, @jeffbercovici, @mattyglesias, @kevinwglass, @mikemadden, @ggreenwald, @justinwolfers, @felixsalmon and The Huffington Post

Janko Roettgers / GigaOM:

Erik Huggers: Intel will launch its own TV service this year — Intel Media boss Erik Huggers finally broke his silence about the company's TV plans at All Things Digital's Dive into Media conference in Dana Point, California Tuesday, confirming reports from GigaOM and others that the company …

Discussion: AllThingsD, AdAge, The Wrap, Adweek, CNET, AllThingsD, MacRumors, Broadcasting & Cable and TechCrunch

Salvador Rodriguez / Los Angeles Times:

Intel confirms Internet TV service and set-top box are on the way — Intel announced it is working on a new Internet TV service and a set-top box. (John G. Mabanglo/EPA) — Intel announced Tuesday it is working on an Internet TV service and set-top box that it hopes to roll out within a year.

Discussion: The Next Web

Ina Fried / AllThingsD:

Hearst's David Carey on How People Are Still Reading Magazines. Really! — Despite what you may have read online, the print magazine business is actually pretty good. — Or so says Hearst Magazines President David Carey. — “A lot of magazines get tarred with a lot of the anxiety around …

Discussion: NetNewsCheck Latest

Jeff John Roberts / paidContent: Hearst: Women finally embracing online magazines thanks to 7-inch screens

Shara Tibken / CNET:

Inkling takes on Amazon, Apple with new e-book publishing tool — The startup, founded by a former Apple executive, also has allowed users to search via Google within titles made using its technology. — The launch of Amazon's first Kindle e-reader in 2007 upended the publishing industry.

Discussion: MediaFile, paidContent, TeleRead, PublishersWeekly.com, VentureBeat, Businessweek, Digital Book World and TechCrunch

Eriq Gardner / Hollywood Reporter:

Trial Begins in Dish Network's $150 Million Lawsuit Against ESPN — The satellite TV giant alleges the sports network has given other pay-TV distributors like Comcast, DirecTV and TIme Warner Cable more favorable contracts. — This week, a New York courtroom is the scene of a potentially revealing look …