CNN founder Ted Turner dies at 87
Turner was also the owner of several Atlanta sports teams
What happened
Ted Turner, the billionaire media tycoon who pioneered around-the-clock news coverage by founding CNN, died Wednesday at the age of 87. No cause of death was announced, but Turner revealed eight years ago that he had Lewy body dementia, a progressive neurological disorder.
Who said what
Turner was a generous philanthropist, avid conservationist and accomplished yachtsman. He also previously owned three Atlanta sports teams: the Braves, Hawks and Thrashers. But it “was his audacious vision to deliver news from around the world in real time, at all hours, that really made him famous,” CNN said, “once his idea finally took off.”
Turner started CNN in 1980, but its “breakthrough came during the Gulf War with Iraq in 1991,” when it broadcast live from Baghdad after “most television journalists fled,” The Associated Press said. CNN “revolutionized television news,” The New York Times said. But Turner’s other cable channels — TNT, the Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies and Superstation WTBS — have also had “considerable” impact on American culture.
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What next?
Turner’s “legacy as a businessman and outspoken environmentalist will continue” through his family, USA Today said. His “five talented, complex kids who I had the privilege of becoming stepmother to” are “all doing fine,” Jane Fonda, the most famous of Turner’s three ex-wives, said on Instagram.
