Ted Turner, CNN creator who revolutionized the media industry, dies at 87

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Ted Turner, the bold and influential media entrepreneur who launched CNN and changed the way people in America watched the news, has passed away at the age of 87. He used his media power and fortune to champion progressive causes around the world and protect natural lands.

Turner died Wednesday, according to his family.

In 2018, he shared that he was living with Lewy body dementia, a disease that gradually affects the brain, and had been experiencing worsening symptoms for some time.

Ted Turner was a larger-than-life figure – known as the “Mouth from the South” for his outspoken style – who greatly impacted news, politics, sports, and entertainment towards the end of the 20th century. He consistently disrupted traditional industries by rapidly entering markets and giving consumers more choices, often challenging larger, less innovative companies with his Turner Broadcasting System.

Ted Turner founded TBS and Turner Classic Movies, and he was the owner of the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks. He also played a key role in the popularization of professional wrestling through World Championship Wrestling.

Ted Turner was a pioneer in using cable and satellite technology to bring television to people in rural areas, many of whom had never had access before. He was often the first to provide entertaining TV programming to these communities.

This powerful media figure was always in the news. Known for his distinctive pencil mustache, he enjoyed a lavish lifestyle that included sailboat racing and a surprising friendship with Fidel Castro in Cuba. He even married the celebrated actress and activist Jane Fonda. His immense fortune allowed him to amass vast land holdings and become a major philanthropist in the United States.

His most significant accomplishment was launching the Cable News Network (CNN) in 1980, which essentially created the format for modern cable news channels. Many doubted its success; around-the-clock news hadn’t been proven as a viable business strategy, especially in an industry then controlled by major networks like ABC, NBC, and CBS, which followed strict programming schedules. Adding to the skepticism, CNN chose to base its operations in Atlanta, not in traditional media hubs like New York or Los Angeles.

I remember reading that back in 2001, the journalist Daniel Schorr wrote about how Ted Turner predicted the old-fashioned TV networks wouldn’t last. Turner figured people would ditch scheduled programming and start watching whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted – basically, the beginning of streaming and on-demand video!

According to Schorr, the future of television news depended on broadcasting events as they happened – live news and live sports. This is why he was eager to be the first to offer 24/7 news and sports coverage, and why Turner tried to recruit him for CNN.

In just two years, CNN gained over 9 million viewers. By the 2000s, Ted Turner’s original vision of a 24/7 news channel had become incredibly popular, inspiring other networks like MSNBC and Fox News to follow suit.

In 2004, Turner reflected on CNN’s success, explaining that they not only became profitable but also revolutionized news coverage. They shifted the focus from reporting on events after they occurred to broadcasting them live, as they unfolded. Turner emphasized that CNN prioritized journalistic integrity, readily finding funds for crucial coverage – even if it meant exceeding their budget – and this dedication is what made CNN a globally popular news source.

Rupert Murdoch, the former chairman of Fox Corp., described Ted Turner as both a competitor and a friend. He stated that Turner’s idea for 24/7 cable news fundamentally changed the media world and allowed people around the globe to watch major events as they happened. Murdoch believes Turner’s pioneering work has permanently shaped our society.

Ted Turner understood the importance of reaching a global audience early on, starting CNN’s international expansion in the mid-1980s. He also developed a passion for land conservation, beginning with the purchase of The Bar-None Ranch in Montana. Over time, he became one of the largest landowners in the United States, accumulating almost 2 million acres dedicated to preserving habitats for endangered animals and his favorite animal, the American bison.

David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery (CNN’s parent company), said on Wednesday that Ted Turner’s drive, imagination, and risk-taking fundamentally transformed the media landscape. Zaslav noted Turner’s strong belief in the importance of innovative thinking, doing things in a new way, and creating media outlets that could educate, motivate, and bring people together globally.

World & Nation

Over the past 12 years, a media mogul has spent his wealth to purchase and revitalize 1.7 million acres of land.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 19, 1938, Robert Edward Turner III grew up in Georgia. Even as a student at the Georgia Military Academy, he was known for being a bit of a troublemaker. His childhood was difficult, largely due to his father’s struggles with alcohol.

You know, looking back, Ted’s mom, Florence Turner, always said that almost every fight Ed and I had came down to him being too rough with Ted. It was a constant worry for her, and honestly, it became a constant source of tension between us.

Ted Turner described his father as a traditionalist who liked to be in control, writing in his 2008 memoir that they had a complicated relationship despite his love for him.

Younger Turner went to Brown University, but he didn’t finish his degree. He ran out of money, and his father stopped paying his tuition. As recounted in his memoir, he was also suspended for having a female guest in his dorm room shortly before leaving.

He quickly began working at his father’s growing billboard business, Turner Advertising, a company he’d helped with on and off since he was a child.

At 24, Turner took over the family business following his father’s tragic death. He’d already gained valuable experience and immediately worked to undo his father’s recent decision to sell a portion of the company to a rival. He also tackled the company’s significant debt, a move that hinted at his future success in growing the business into a larger empire.

While building his business, Turner was also a competitive sailor, and it was through sailing that he met his first wife, Judy Nye, when they were both in college. Unfortunately, sailing also led to the end of their marriage. In a 1963 race, Turner deliberately collided with Judy’s boat to prevent her from overtaking him, and they divorced shortly after. They had two children together.

This marked the beginning of a pattern – Turner would go on to have three divorces. He famously explained his tendency by saying he falls in love with every woman he meets. Despite this, he achieved significant success, winning the America’s Cup in 1977 and transforming his father’s business into a large, modern media company.

Building on his success with billboards, Ted Turner began purchasing radio stations throughout the South in the late 1960s. In 1970, he acquired television station Channel 17 in Atlanta, where he challenged established networks by showing inexpensive classic movies and picking up programs that other stations didn’t want. He preferred not to air news during peak viewing times, finding it too depressing, and instead secured the broadcasting rights for Atlanta’s Braves and Hawks, along with other local sports teams.

The Braves were popular with viewers, and when the team struggled and was put up for sale, Ted Turner’s company bought it in 1976. Although the team continued to lose, Turner tried to get people’s attention with unusual promotions, like putting “Channel 17” on the players’ jerseys and even dressing up as the batboy and manager – much to the league’s annoyance. He soon added the Hawks basketball team to his holdings.

Ted Turner grew his Atlanta-based independent TV station into a national powerhouse by utilizing the emerging technologies of cable and satellite television. Despite competition from established local stations, he expanded coverage throughout the South and then the entire U.S., rebranding Channel 17 as “SuperStation” WTBS, which eventually became known simply as TBS.

The unusual Atlanta TV station, once broadcasting classic films and sporting events only locally, now reaches a national audience.

Turner, always ambitious, then decided to try his hand at news. He started CNN in 1980, hoping to establish a 24-hour national news channel before the major networks—ABC, NBC, and CBS—and their much larger financial resources, could do it first.

I was really struck by something Christiane Amanpour said on CNN yesterday. She pointed out that Ted Turner was the one who truly pioneered 24/7 news coverage. She described him as an inspiration – someone who not only set the standard for all of us in the industry, but also instilled a sense of optimism and a drive to work towards a better future. It’s a powerful legacy, and she articulated it beautifully.

The channel had a difficult start, but it managed to survive a challenge from ABC, who tried to launch a rival network. Even though the news coverage wasn’t always perfect, critics recognized the potential of having a 24/7 news source.

Back in 1986, Los Angeles Times critic Howard Rosenberg praised CNN, calling the then-six-year-old channel an “institution” and suggesting people were missing out if they didn’t watch. He admitted it wasn’t perfect, but emphasized its constant availability: “It’s not always good, but it’s always there.”

In 1986, CNN was the sole news outlet providing live coverage of the tragic Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Later, in 1991, CNN broadcast the beginning of the Gulf War live and without interruption. U.S. leaders deliberately held press conferences, aware that Iraqi president Saddam Hussein was watching the coverage on CNN.

Americans had seen images of war before, but not broadcast nonstop into their homes.

French theorist Jean Baudrillard famously criticized war coverage, suggesting that CNN aimed to simply show the conflict rather than truly understand it. This led media experts to consider whether constant live coverage – dubbed the “CNN effect” – was actually shaping how governments reacted to international crises. Officials realized they were now pressured to respond to events much faster, due to the immediate visibility provided by live television.

Ted Turner wasn’t hostile towards communist countries during the Cold War. He even created the Goodwill Games as a privately funded event to promote peace. This initiative successfully brought the Soviet Union and the United States back into direct Olympic competition in the late 1980s, after both countries had boycotted the Games – and it was all broadcast on television.

Turner viewed professional wrestling as another valuable part of his sports businesses, and he once attempted to compete with Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation using his own World Championship Wrestling program. He also tried to challenge MTV by launching the Cable Music Channel, promising it would avoid the overly violent or demeaning content often shown on MTV.

Entertainment & Arts

Ted Turner, the media entrepreneur behind CNN, was chosen as Time magazine’s Person of the Year on Saturday. Editors recognized the significant effect CNN’s 24-hour live news coverage had on how people around the world learned about current events.

I always admired how principled Ted Turner was. He actually began as a pretty conservative guy – I understand he even met his future wife, Jane, at a Barry Goldwater event back in ’64! But over time, he really evolved and became a huge advocate for things like world peace, preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, and tackling climate change. It was inspiring to see him shift his focus to such important causes.

In 1990, Ted Turner shared his own set of principles – a secular alternative to the Ten Commandments, which he called the “Ten Voluntary Initiatives.” These focused on things like promoting peace, protecting the environment, and practicing nonviolence, and even suggested limiting family size. Later, Turner became a significant financial supporter of the United Nations, donating $1 billion and establishing the United Nations Foundation.

1991 was a momentous year – the Soviet Union dissolved, the U.S. went to war with Iraq, and Clarence Thomas faced Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Amidst these events, Time magazine recognized Ted Turner as its “Man of the Year” for founding CNN, which provided live coverage of it all. It was also a personal year for Turner, as he married Jane Fonda (with CNN reporting on the wedding), though his Atlanta Braves team just missed winning the World Series.

Being named Person of the Year by Time magazine was also a smart move for business. Time Warner, the company that owned Time, held a 20% stake in Turner Broadcasting System.

In 1992, Turner created Cartoon Network, giving a new audience the chance to enjoy classic Hanna-Barbera characters like Fred Flintstone, Yogi Bear, and Scooby-Doo, which he had recently acquired.

Entertainment & Arts

A self-made American business leader and generous supporter of charities will be visiting USC to discuss his life story, as told in his new autobiography.

People who opposed Turner often considered his business decisions risky and spontaneous. While he achieved significant successes like establishing national broadcasting and CNN, he also experienced costly failures, such as an unsuccessful bid to purchase CBS.

Less than a year after acquiring the MGM film studio, Ted Turner was forced to sell it. However, he kept the studio’s extensive film collection, which proved to be a valuable asset. This collection ultimately formed the basis for the Turner Classic Movies channel and later became a prized possession within the Warner Bros. studio archives in Burbank.

I remember when Ted Turner’s incredible run at the top of the media world started to shift. In 1996, Turner Broadcasting joined forces with Time Warner, creating a massive company – it felt like the beginning of a new era, but also a turning point for Ted. Then, in 2000, Time Warner made this huge bet on AOL, a deal that, looking back, just didn’t work out. Ted wasn’t really involved in making that deal, and he definitely didn’t approve of it, so it wasn’t a surprise when he was eventually let go as an executive. It was a sad end to a remarkable chapter.

Mark Lazarus, CEO of Versant Media and a former colleague of Ted Turner, described Turner as a truly transformative leader in the media industry. He noted that he personally witnessed Turner’s bold risk-taking and his conviction that media could have a greater purpose and influence.

Mark Thompson, Chairman of CNN Worldwide, stated that Ted Turner remains the driving force behind CNN, describing him as a legendary figure whose legacy the network continues to build upon.

Entertainment & Arts

Once a powerful figure in the business world, this wealthy individual is now focusing on charitable work to be remembered for his positive impact.

In 2003, Ted Turner left the AOL Time Warner board, and by 2007, he had sold all of his company stock. During his retirement, he became well-known for founding Ted’s Montana Grill, and he dedicated much of his time and resources to charitable work, preserving land, and protecting the American bison.

Hollywood Inc.

The large-scale merger is still awaiting approval from regulatory bodies in the U.S. and other countries, and it’s facing increasing resistance from within the industry.

I’ve always seen CNN as a major news source, both here and around the world, but it’s tough to ignore that their viewership has been dropping lately. It seems like how people get their news is just changing – more and more people are turning to social media, and honestly, the constant attacks from President Trump probably haven’t helped. Plus, with the network going through different owners, it’s been a bit of a bumpy ride.

Over the last ten years, CNN has changed ownership three times. Now, it’s likely to be sold again, with billionaire David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance as the potential buyer. If the deal goes through, CNN and CBS News would become part of the same company.

In his 2008 memoir, Turner shared that he’d often thought about what he wanted on his tombstone. He once considered the phrase ‘You Can’t Interview Me Here’ as a playful way to avoid the press. More recently, he’s favored a simpler message: ‘I Have Nothing More to Say.’

Ted Turner is survived by his five children: Laura Turner Seydel, Robert Edward “Teddy” Turner IV, Rhett Turner, Beau Turner, and Jennie Turner Garlington, as well as 14 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. The family will hold both a private service and a public memorial at a later time.

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2026-05-06 21:03