Ted Turner, CNN founder who transformed American news media, dies at 87
Ted Turner, the philanthropist and media mogul who founded CNN, creating the 24-hour news cycle and transforming the American news media, died early Wednesday. He was 87.
CNN announced his death, citing a news release from Turner Enterprises.
Turner, who lived near Tallahassee, Florida, announced in 2018 that he had Lewy body dementia, a progressive disorder.
A media mogul and entrepreneur
Known as a media giant during his prime, Turner launched channels like TBS (Turner Broadcasting System), TNT (Turner Network Television), Cartoon Network and Turner Classic Movies. Outside of entertainment, he revolutionized the news industry, creating CNN as the first 24-hour cable news network.
Turner’s empire grew out of an Atlanta television station that he bought in the 1970s and transformed into a national “superstation” using satellite technology — an unprecedented move at the time. The station, which he rebranded as TBS, drew an audience by broadcasting Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves, the once-struggling franchise that Turner bought in 1976.
Turner had larger ambitions, however, seeing an opportunity to fundamentally change how people consumer news. Capitalizing on the growth of cable television, Turner took CNN — originally called Cable News Network — live at 6 p.m. on June 1, 1980.
“We won’t be signing off until the world ends,” Turner said. “We’ll cover it live.”
The launch paved the way for competitors like Fox News and MSNBC, which launched as 24-hour news channels in the 1990s.
In addition to the Braves, Turner also owned the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA for several years, and said he saw televising his sports teams as a way of creating “premium content” that could fill hours of airtime on his networks.
“I didn’t buy the Braves to be a baseball owner,” Turner said. “I bought them to get programming for my television station.”
In 1986, Turner bought the MGM/UA Entertainment Company, including Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s library of more than 4,000 films. The move became controversial when he authorized the “colorizing” of some black-and-white motion pictures.
In 1996, Turner’s company merged with Time Warner. The deal made Turner one of the largest shareholders, though he later stepped away following subsequent mergers.
Turner, the philanthropist
After the Time Warner merger, Turner pledged $1 billion to help create the United Nations Foundation and became active in environmental conservation and wildlife preservation.
“I made my money from globalization,” Turner said. “I thought I should give something back.”
He historically held the philosophy that wealth comes with responsibility and that large-scale global challenges, including the environment, health and poverty, require equally large commitments.
His nonprofit, the Turner Foundation, established in 1990, aims to “restore the natural systems, air, land and water, on which all life depends.”
He became one of the largest landowners in the U.S., with many of his ranches involved in sustainability and ecotourism.
“My wish,” Turner said, “is that the land and the species … continue and thrive.”
‘One of the greats of all time’
Turner was married and divorced three times, including to the actress Jane Fonda. He is survived by five children.
Turner once said he had considered running for president, and he identified as a Democrat. He endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016.
Among those who praised Turner’s accomplishments on Wednesday was David Axelrod, a CNN contributor and a former aide to President Barack Obama.
“At the dawn of cable TV, Ted Turner imagined and built a great global news network, CNN,” Axelrod wrote on X. “His vision has served America and the world with distinction for four decades, shining a light on the most important stories. A great, living legacy.”
On Truth Social, President Donald Trump called Turner “one of the Greats of All Time.”
“One of the Greats of Broadcast History, and a friend of mine,” Trump wrote. “Whenever I needed him, he was there, always willing to fight for a good cause!”
Trump, however, went on the criticize CNN, saying Turner was “personally devastated” because subsequent owners “destroyed it.”
“It became woke, and everything that he is not all about,” Trump wrote. “Maybe the new buyers, wonderful people, will be able to bring it back to its former credibility and glory.”
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
