In memory of Ted Turner: A legacy in media, sports and philanthropy
The media mogul founded CNN, the world’s first 24-hour news channel. He was a famous athlete and philanthropist.
Ted Turner, the maverick businessman and philanthropist who transformed a financially troubled Atlanta television station into a media empire centered around CNN, the first 24-hour cable news station, has died. He was 87 years old.
Turner Enterprises announced his death in a news release obtained by USA TODAY on May 6, saying Turner died “surrounded by his family.”
The verbose broadcast entrepreneur known as the “Mouth of the South” sold his father’s successful marquee business in 1970 to purchase Atlanta’s independent station WJRJ Channel 17. Turner expanded its acquisitions into Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), which includes Turner Network Television (TNT), and Cable News Network (CNN), a groundbreaking 24-hour news channel that began nonstop news coverage in 1980.
“Ted was a highly active and dedicated leader, courageous and fearless, always willing to support his instincts and trust his own judgment,” Mark Thompson, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, said in a statement. “He has been, and always will be, the head of CNN. Ted is a giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we would like to take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world.”
Turner was the longtime and versatile owner of the Atlanta Braves professional baseball team and the Atlanta Hawks professional basketball team, both of which provided significant content to his television superstation WTCG, and both of which had a national following. Once living in a basement, the Braves became known as America’s team, eventually winning the National League in the 1990s under Mr. Turner’s ownership, including a World Series championship in 1995.
Mr. Turner was the epitome of an intimidating businessman and sportsman, known for his hunting, rum-drinking, and political debates with his friend, the late Cuban president Fidel Castro. Turner was so passionate about sailing and the America’s Cup yacht race that the media gave him the title “Captain Outrageous.”
However, this amateur captain led his yacht to an incredible victory in the 1977 America’s Cup and was ultimately inducted into the National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2011.
Turner, who was outspoken on politics, founded and sponsored the Goodwill Games, which lasted from 1986 to 2001. The International Games began with the hope of easing Cold War tensions through friendly athletic competition.
Turner is survived by five children, 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Turner Enterprises said in a statement: “A private family funeral is being planned and a public memorial service will be held at a later date. Details will be announced in due course.”
Ted Turner and Jane Fonda: An unlikely romance between a media mogul and an actor-activist
A star in his own right, Turner married for the third time in 1991, to activist and actor Jane Fonda. This unlikely marriage lasted ten years, and the mutual admiration between the two famous figures never waned.
Years after their divorce in 2001, Ms. Fonda said of her former husband, Mr. Turner, “Nobody will ever love me the way I love him.”
The Turner legend began with “lofty goals” and graduation from Brown University.
Born Robert Edward Turner III in Cincinnati on November 19, 1938, Turner was influenced by his figurehead father, Robert Edward Turner II.
“He said something I’ll never forget. He said, ‘Son, set your goals higher than you’ll ever achieve in your lifetime, and there’s always something waiting for you,'” Turner wrote in his 2008 memoir, Call Me Ted: My Life, My Way.
He was a rebellious young man who stayed true to his spirit even though he dropped out of Brown University early. According to Turner’s legend, the college student was expelled from an Ivy League school for letting a female student into his dorm room. Mr Turner insisted the visit did not lead to his expulsion. “It was true that I had been caught and suspended, but I was already preparing to leave,” Turner wrote in his memoirs.
After his father died by suicide in March 1963, he returned to his hometown and took over his family’s Atlanta-based business, Turner Advertising Company, at age 24. He became an ambitious radio station owner and later expanded to owning a television station. With the rise of CNN, which exploded in popularity with its comprehensive coverage of the 1991 Gulf War, Turner became a media megastar and was named Time magazine’s 1991 Man of the Year.
“CNN, once derided as the ‘Chicken Noodle Network’ for its low wages and amateurish presentation, is now the video medium of record,” Time magazine’s cover story said.
The TBS network included the creation of 24-Hour Cartoon Network (1992) and Turner Classic Movies (1994). TCM consists primarily of classic feature films released theatrically from the Turner Entertainment film library, and was strengthened by the acquisition of the pre-1986 MGM film library and Warner Bros. Studio films produced through 1950, for which Turner was once criticized.
Turner also oversaw the acquisition of two film production companies in 1993: New Line Cinema and Castle Rock Entertainment.
“Ted’s entrepreneurial spirit, creative ambition and willingness to take risks changed the media industry forever,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO and President David Zaslav said in a May 6 statement. “He believed deeply in the power of ideas to do things differently and build a platform that informed, inspired and connected people around the world. That belief inspired generations of leaders, including myself. He didn’t just disrupt media. He transformed media.”
AOL and Time Warner’s disastrous merger cost Turner $8 billion
In 1996, media giant Time Warner merged with Turner Broadcasting System, and Mr. Turner became vice chairman, a position he held when Time Warner merged with Internet giant AOL in 2001. The dot.com crash was disastrous for the company and Mr. Turner, the company’s largest individual shareholder after the merger.
“I lost 80 percent of my value, and then I lost my job,” Turner told The New York Times in 2010. “I lost about $8 billion, so I looked into whether I was the biggest loser of all time. But I don’t think I was the biggest loser.”
Turner focused on his already impressive philanthropy. In 1997, the businessman shocked diplomats with a black-tie gala when he announced a staggering $1 billion donation to the United Nations for programs supporting refugees and children. He was an outspoken environmental activist and funded environmental protection programs through the Turner Foundation.
How much land did Ted Turner own?
Turner was the second largest private landowner in North America, owning approximately 2 million acres of land, including bison-filled ranches, across eight U.S. states (and Argentina). The land is managed by Turner Enterprises, with the goal of governing it in an “economically sustainable and environmentally responsible manner while promoting the conservation of native species.”
Ted Turner’s battle with Lewy body dementia
The seemingly tireless entrepreneurial icon’s hard work suffered a setback in 2018 when Turner revealed he had Lewy body dementia, a progressive neurological disease. Turner told “CBS Sunday Morning” that the disorder left her feeling “tired” and “extremely fatigued,” adding that the chronic symptom that bothered her most was “forgetfulness.”
Mr. Turner, who is outspoken about his legacy, wrote in his memoirs that he often thought about what he would write on his tombstone, starting with a comment to the press that said, “I can’t do interviews here.”
“Midway through my career, I thought, ‘Here lies Ted Turner. He never owned a broadcast network,'” Turner wrote in his memoir. “Recently, I’ve been leaning towards ‘I have nothing more to say.'”
Turner had a lot to say during his illustrious life.
“If I had to live my life over there, I would do things differently,” Turner wrote. “But it was a great ride. I have very few regrets.”
