Ted Turner, the media entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded CNN and transformed television news with the launch of the world’s first 24-hour cable news network, has died at the age of 87. Turner Enterprises said he died peacefully on Wednesday, surrounded by his family. CNN Worldwide chairman and chief executive Mark Thompson described him as “the presiding spirit of CNN” and “the giant on whose shoulders we stand.”
Turner changed the media landscape on June 1, 1980, when he launched CNN, a venture widely dismissed at the time but one that went on to redefine how audiences consumed breaking news around the world. The network’s influence grew dramatically during events such as the 1991 Gulf War, when live round-the-clock reporting made CNN a global force. Turner was later named Time’s Man of the Year in 1991 for the impact he had on world events and mass communication.
Beyond CNN, Turner built a broad media empire that included the TBS superstation and major cable brands such as TNT, Cartoon Network and Turner Classic Movies. He later sold Turner Broadcasting to Time Warner in 1996, but continued to regard CNN as the greatest achievement of his life. Turner was also a major philanthropist and environmental advocate. He founded the United Nations Foundation with a landmark $1 billion donation, co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initiative, championed nuclear disarmament, and became one of the largest private landowners in the United States, playing a prominent role in bison conservation. He revealed in 2018 that he had Lewy body dementia. Turner is survived by five children, 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
