New York (AFP) – Ted Turner, the flamboyant US entrepreneur who transformed television news with the creation of CNN in 1980 before venturing into philanthropy, has died at the age of 87. The mustached southerner, champion yachtsman and conservationist, whose empire also included sports clubs, had been suffering from the degenerative disease Lewy Body Dementia.
Cable News Network upended established broadcasting with its dedication to around-the-clock breaking news and shot to global recognition with its coverage of the Gulf War in 1990-91. The 24-hour network was the first in the United States to run non-stop news and quickly built a worldwide footprint. “Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world,” Mark Thompson, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, said Wednesday.
Rupert Murdoch, the owner of competitor Fox News who clashed with Turner in the 1990s before the pair reconciled, said his former business rival “transformed the media industry.” “His impact as a trailblazer has left an indelible mark on our cultural landscape,” Murdoch said in a statement. Among the media world’s most influential figures, Turner earned the title of Time magazine’s man of the year in 1991. He married three times, including to actress Jane Fonda, and had five children.
In a statement, Turner’s family remembered his “no-holds-barred delivery, endearing sense of humor, and undying loyalty to those around him.” “He charmed people he met with his warmth and general lack of conceit, despite his many successes and celebrity –- an attribute made apparent in his response to anyone who addressed him as ‘Mr. Turner’ –- he’d always reply, ‘Call me Ted!'”
President Donald Trump, who regularly brands CNN as “fake news” as part of his wider attacks on US media, praised Turner as “one of the Greats of All Time.” “Whenever I needed him, he was there, always willing to fight for a good cause!” Trump said in a social media post.
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. He took over a faltering family advertising business after his father, despondent over financial problems, died by 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’s success inspired the creation of other 24-hour news channels including Fox News, MSNBC and countless networks worldwide. Turner’s television empire also included TBS and TNT channels for sports and entertainment, Turner Classic Movies and Cartoon Network, among others.
Alongside his business success, Turner was a prominent figure in the sports world. He bought the Atlanta Braves baseball team in 1976 and the team made several World Series appearances, winning in 1995. The team played on Turner Field until 2016. Turner also owned the Atlanta Hawks NBA team and the Atlanta Thrashers NHL team. He sold his interest in all three teams in 1996. In other sports endeavors, Turner successfully skippered the US yacht Courageous to win the 1977 America’s Cup.
His later years were dedicated to philanthropy and the environment. In 1998, Turner 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. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called Turner “a visionary whose conviction, generosity and audacious spirit left a lasting imprint on the United Nations and our world.”
© 2024 AFP
