CNN founder Ted Turner dead at 87
CNN founder and business mogul Ted Turner has died at age 87, according to CNN.
CNN founder and business mogul Ted Turner has died at age 87.
Turner pioneered the media industry with the creation of the 24-hour cable news network in 1980. Turner had disclosed in 2018 that he suffered from Lewy body dementia, which caused memory problems and exhaustion.
He died peacefully and was surrounded by family, according to CNN.
FTed Turner pioneered the media industry with the creation of the 24-hour cable news network in 1980. (AP)
"Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgment," CNN CEO Mark Thompson said in a statement.
"He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN," Thompson added. "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."
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Turner made his fortune first through advertising in the state of Georgia before starting his media empire. Turner entered the television business in 1970 when he acquired Atlanta independent UHF station channel 17, according to the Turner Enterprises website. In 1976, he purchased Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves and launched TBS, which launched the "Superstation" concept.
In 1980, Turner forever changed cable and the way Americans consume information when he launched CNN, the first live, 24-hour news network. But the media pioneer wasn’t finished, and he went on to launch CNN Headline News, CNN International, TNT, Cartoon Network and Turner Classic Movies.
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Actress Jane Fonda and CNN Founder Ted Turner on December 9, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Rick Diamond/Getty Images for GAACP)
Turner’s company merged with Time Warner Inc. in 1996, and Time Warner merged with AOL in 2001. Turner departed the company in 2003 and stepped down from the board in 2005.
Turner was also one of America’s most influential philanthropists and was named Time magazine’s Man of the Year in 1991. Turner, also an internationally known yachtsman, founded the United Nations Foundation.
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"He was an American trailblazer," Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer said Wednesday.
Turner is survived by five children, 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
This is a developing story, more to come…
