Washington (United States) (AFP) – Ted Turner created CNN in 1980, revolutionizing the way America, and the world, got their news, and then went on to become one of the most prominent business leaders and philanthropists of his era. A brash risk taker, Turner — whose death aged 87 was announced on Wednesday — helped reshape the television industry in the late 20th century. He also made a name for himself with spectacular business deals, his ownership of professional sports clubs, a marriage to actress Jane Fonda, his leadership of a competitive yachting team and then a devotion to charitable and environmental causes.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in November 1938, Robert Edward “Ted” Turner III went to a military boarding school in Tennessee and then attended Brown University, but was expelled before graduating. Turner took over a faltering family advertising business after his father, despondent over financial problems, committed suicide. After buying a number of radio stations, Turner’s purchase of a struggling Atlanta station in 1970 was his first move into television. Ten years later, that became the flagship of his nationwide Turner Broadcasting System, the profits from which he parlayed into the launch of CNN.
CNN launched in 1980 as the first 24-hour cable news network, gaining traction in the United States and later internationally. The launch came as viewers were shifting from broadcast to cable, and CNN became a key source of news during the 1990-1991 Gulf War, delivering extensive live coverage using satellite technology. CNN’s success inspired the creation of other 24-hour news channels including Fox News by longtime Turner rival Rupert Murdoch, MSNBC, and countless stations worldwide. Turner’s television empire expanded beyond CNN and included TBS and TNT channels for sports and entertainment, Turner Classic Movies, and Cartoon Network, among others.
As his television empire expanded, Turner made a failed bid to acquire CBS in the 1980s and then briefly acquired MGM/UA Entertainment Co. studios. Turner sold the Hollywood group back months later while keeping the rights to large portions of its catalog including films from MGM.
His deals got bigger in the 1990s when Turner Broadcasting merged with Time Warner in 1996, making him vice chairman of the media-entertainment powerhouse. In 2001, AOL (previously America Online) completed its purchase of Time Warner for $165 billion in the biggest merger in corporate history. But the deal had to be unwound within a decade with the falling fortunes of AOL, which used an inflated share price for the deal. Turner, the biggest shareholder of Time Warner, lost billions from the deal.
Turner bought the Atlanta Braves baseball team in 1976, and the team made several World Series appearances, winning in 1995. He sold his interest as part of the Time Warner deal, but the team continued to play on Turner Field until 2016. He also owned the Atlanta Hawks NBA team and Atlanta Thrashers NHL team, both of which were transferred to Time Warner as part of the 1996 megadeal. In other sports endeavors, Turner successfully skippered the US yacht Courageous to win the 1977 America’s Cup. A yachting incident intensified the rivalry between Turner and Murdoch in 1983 when a Murdoch-sponsored yacht collided with Turner’s in the Sydney-Hobart race, sinking Turner’s schooner. Afterwards, Turner challenged Murdoch to a fistfight and the two media icons continued to play out their rivalry in the business world.
Turner created the Goodwill Games in the 1980s as part of an effort to ease international tensions during the Cold War, amid Olympic boycotts led by the United States and Soviet Union. The last events were held in 2001.
Aside from his business and sports deals, Turner gained attention for his personal life and his later ventures focused on philanthropy and the environment. In 1996, he complained to The New York Times that “all the money is in the hands of these few rich people, and none of them give any away.” He was Time magazine’s man of the year in 1991, the same year he married actress Jane Fonda, his third wife. They divorced a decade later, and he blamed their marital woes on her conversion to Christianity. Her version: “He needs somebody there for him 100 percent of the time … That’s not love, it’s babysitting.”
In 1998, he donated a billion dollars to the United Nations to create the UN Foundation, which has focused on climate change, sustainable development, technology, and health initiatives. Turner announced his departure from his post at Time Warner in 2003 to devote his energy to his other interests. These include the Turner Foundation, founded in 1990, which supports efforts to fight climate change and improve air and water quality and has given away some $380 million. His Turner Endangered Species Fund, launched in June 1997, has worked to save gopher tortoises, monarch butterflies, and leopard frogs, working mainly with private landowners. In 2015, he launched the eco-tourism venture Ted Turner Reserves, which enables tourists to visit his four properties in New Mexico and learn about conservation efforts.
© 2024 AFP
