Ted Turner

The media mogul who founded CNN, revolutionized cable television, and became a leading philanthropist.

Gotfryd, Bernard, photographer · via Wikipedia: Ted Turner · Public domain

Robert Edward Turner III came into the world on November 19, 1938, in Cincinnati, Ohio.^[1] CNN, a news channel that broadcasts around the clock, first went on the air on June 1, 1980.^[2]

Quick Facts

Birth name

Robert Edward Turner III

Born

19 November 1938

Birthplace

Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.

Died

6 May 2026

Place of death

Lamont, Florida, U.S.

Education

Brown University (expelled)

Occupation

Businessman
television producer
media proprietor
philanthropist

Years active

1960–2018

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

He was expelled from Brown for having a female student in his dormitory room, but received an honorary B.A. in 1989.^[3] After his father's suicide in 1963, Turner took over the family billboard business at age 24.^[4] Turner bought the Atlanta Braves in 1976 and the Atlanta Hawks in 1977 to provide programming for his station.^[5] Turner served as interim manager for one Braves game in 1977 before being ordered to stop by National League president Chub Feeney.^[6]

He founded the Goodwill Games in 1986 to ease tensions between capitalist and communist countries.^[7] Turner merged his company with Time Warner in 1996, becoming vice chairman.^[8] The Turner Broadcasting System had its start after Turner bought an Atlanta UHF station in 1970.^[9]

What the cited sources add

A 2012 Saporta Report article notes that Turner's 1976 decision to bounce his UHF station's signal off satellite technology created the nation's first cable SuperStation.^[10] The same source describes how Turner suggested Bill Tush start a 3 a.m. newscast, which became legendary when Tush once co-anchored with a German Shepherd named Rex.^[10] The Toronto Sun reports that Turner was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia in 2018.^[11]

References

Wikipedia, "Ted Turner" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Ted Turner"; "Ted Turner Fast Facts", CNN, May 6, 2026; "Ted Turner Fast Facts", CNN, May 6, 2026; Bauder, "CNN founder Ted Turner, a brash and outspoken television pioneer, has died at age 87", Associated Press, May 6, 2026; O'Connor, "Ted Turner: A Biography", ABC-CLIO, 2009; "History of McCallie", McCallie.org (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Ted Turner" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "CNN's doomsday video leaks to the Internet", News, January 5, 2015 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Ted Turner" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "This is my son. He speaks Greek", Lettersofnote, July 25, 2012; Bibb, "Ted Turner: It Ain't As Easy as It Looks: The Amazing Story of CNN", Crown Publishers, 1993, p. 26–33; "Ted Turner, cable TV pioneer and CNN founder, dies at 87", Toronto Sun, May 6, 2026 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Ted Turner" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bibb, "Ted Turner: It Ain't as Easy as It Looks: The Amazing Story of CNN", Virgin Books, 1996, p. 55–56 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Ted Turner" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Yachtsman Turner Purchases Braves", The New York Times, January 7, 1976; Hart, "Hawks Raise Banner To Honor Turner", NBA.com, November 30, 2004; Bagbey, "Call Me Owner: Why the Braves Need Ted Turner Back", Bleacher Report, December 16, 2009; Gary Caruso, "Messersmith: The game's first free agent", MLB.com, March 20, 2008 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Ted Turner" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Ted Turner Managerial Record", Baseball Reference (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Ted Turner" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Burton, Paul. "Turner, Ted." Notable Sports Figures, edited by Dana R. Barnes, vol. 4, Gale, 2004, pp. 1651–1653.; "Centennial Olympic Stadium", olympics.com, January 3, 2024 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Ted Turner" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pelline, "Time Warner Closes Deal for Turner", San Francisco Chronicle, September 23, 1995 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Ted Turner" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bibb, "Ted Turner: It Ain't as Easy as It Looks: The Amazing Story of CNN", Virgin Books, 1996, p. 55–56; Stelter, "CNN founder Ted Turner, a pioneer of cable TV news, dies at 87", CNN, May 6, 2026 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
"Bill Tush's 30-year TV career began the lucky moment he stopped by Channel 17 for a job", Saporta Report, May 21, 2012. facts only, no text reused. saportareport.com
"Ted Turner, cable TV pioneer and CNN founder, dies at 87", Toronto Sun, May 6, 2026. facts only, no text reused. torontosun.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Ted Turner (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.