Correct me if I am wrong but wouldn't I have received a 1099 that year if it was taxed at the time of the merger?

Not necessarily. But you almost certainly DID receive a 1099B for the sale of the fractional share involved in the merger.

But enough of this speculation. Since it seems everyone is too lazy to simply go to the CNET website and look, I took a couple of minutes and did so.

Amazingly, by looking at the investor relations portion of their web site, I was directed to their SEC filings. Lo and behold, what did I find there? An SEC filing from September 8, 2000, detailing the merger and the tax consequences. Took me all of about 5 minutes to find the answer.

I'm sorely tempted to leave it at that. The answer is there, right at the company web site where several people mentioned it might be found. It's not even that difficult to find the information in the filing. Probably because it's listed in the index under "Material United States Federal Income Tax Consequences."

But I guess I'll just give you the answer in the back of the book.

Their intention is that the merger would qualify as a tax-free reorganization under IRC section 368(a). No gain or loss recognized at the merger. Basis of the ZDNet stock becomes the basis in the CNET stock, and the holding period goes back to your original purchase date.

There. Put this one to bed.

--Peter

PS - Oh, what the heck. Here's the link. Last item on the page, dated 09/08/00.
http://ir.cnetnetworks.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=67325&p=irol-sec&secCat01.1_rs=301&secCat01.1_rc=10