Ted Turner did not just build CNN. He helped create the modern cable era.
The media mogul, philanthropist, sports owner, and founder of CNN died at his home near Tallahassee, Florida, last Wednesday. He was 87. Turner Enterprises confirmed his death, and CNN first reported the news. Turner had disclosed in 2018 that he was living with Lewy body dementia, a progressive neurological disorder that affects memory and cognitive function.
Turner launched the Cable News Network on June 1, 1980, creating America’s first 24-hour cable news channel. At the time, the idea looked risky. Then CNN became central to how the world watched breaking news, from the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster to the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall and the 1991 Gulf War.
Ted Turner Changed Television Forever
CNN chairman and CEO Mark Thompson called Turner an “intensely involved and committed leader” and said he was “the presiding spirit of CNN.”
Before CNN became a global brand, Turner built his empire from far rougher ground. Born Robert Edward Turner III on November 19, 1938, in Cincinnati, he later moved with his family to Savannah, Georgia. He attended Brown University, captained the sailing team, and studied economics before being expelled for having a woman in his dorm room.
After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, Turner returned to Georgia to work for his father’s billboard business. After his father died by suicide in 1963, Turner took over the company and expanded it. That money helped him buy a small Atlanta television station, which grew into WTBS, one of cable’s first major “superstations.”
From CNN To The Braves And Cartoon Network
Turner’s ambitions were never small. He bought the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks in the 1970s, turning Braves broadcasts into national cable programming. Under Turner’s ownership, the Braves became known as “America’s Team” and won the 1995 World Series.
He also launched Cartoon Network in 1992 and Turner Classic Movies in 1994. His media group eventually included CNN, TBS, TNT, and Cartoon Network before he sold Turner Broadcasting to Time Warner in 1996. Reuters reported that the deal was valued at $7.5 billion.
Turner also became a major figure in professional wrestling after buying a production company and renaming it World Championship Wrestling, or WCW. For years, WCW battled Vince McMahon’s WWF, now WWE, in one of wrestling’s most famous business wars.
Jane Fonda, Philanthropy And A Huge Public Life
Turner’s personal life also drew attention. He was married to Jane Fonda from 1991 to 2001, and they remained close after the split. Fonda later remembered him as a “gloriously handsome, deeply romantic, swashbuckling pirate.” “I loved Ted with all of my heart,” she added.
His fortune also went into huge charitable causes. Turner pledged $1 billion in 1997 to support United Nations causes and helped create the United Nations Foundation. He also founded or supported groups tied to nuclear nonproliferation, environmental conservation, and global humanitarian work.
At one point, Turner was among the largest private landowners in the United States, with more than 2 million acres used for conservation and sustainable ranching.
President Donald Trump also reacted to Turner’s death, calling him “one of the Greats of All Time,” while adding a jab at CNN’s later ownership. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said Turner “led a life as big as the American Dream.”
Turner is survived by five children, 14 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
