Ted Turner<\/a>, the brash media mogul who made billions pioneering modern cable television, died Wednesday at 87 years old \u2013 news that was broken by CNN, the cable channel he founded.<\/a><\/p>\n His network altered news forever in 1980 by delivering it 24 hours a day for the first time.<\/p>\n But his impact extended far beyond CNN. Turner established the concept of the \u201csuperstation,\u201d which allowed local cable television to access a national audience, created the Turner Broadcasting System and launched channels such as TNT, Cartoon Network, TBS and more.<\/p>\n His ambition led him to own the Atlanta Braves and turn it into a national franchise, renew interest in professional wrestling with the creation of World Championship Wrestling, win the America\u2019s Cup in yachting, and amass millions of acres of land across several states for preservation.<\/p>\n Married three times, once to actress Jane Fonda, Turner was well-known for making no-filter statements that earned him the nickname \u201cMouth of the South.\u201d Turner\u2019s outspoken nature sometimes overshadowed his risk-taking business acumen.<\/p>\n He once bragged, \u201cIf only I had a little humility, I\u2019d be perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTed was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgement,\u201d Mark Thompson, the CEO and chairman of CNN, said in a statement.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cHe was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN. 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,\u201d Thompson said.<\/p>\n Turner died after a long battle with Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain disease, Turner Enterprises said in a statement.<\/a><\/p>\n President Donald Trump acknowledged Turner\u2019s death in a statement<\/a>, claiming the media mogul was \u201cpersonally devastated\u201d after selling CNN and his other networks to Time Warner in 1996 for $7.5 billion.<\/p>\n \u201cHe founded CNN, sold it, and was personally devastated by the Deal <\/a>because the new ownership took CNN, his \u2018baby,\u2019 and destroyed it,\u201d Trump said in a Truth Social post. \u201cIt became woke, and everything that he is not all about. Maybe the new buyers, wonderful people, will be able to bring it back to its former credibility and glory. Regardless, however, one of the Greats of Broadcast History, and a friend of mine. Whenever I needed him, he was there, always willing to fight for a good cause!\u201d<\/p>\n The creation of CNN<\/p>\n Turner\u2019s signature achievement was creating CNN, the first 24-hour, all-news television network in 1980.<\/p>\n After taking on his father\u2019s billboard company after his death, Turner purchased a small Atlanta television station and began transmitting the station to cable systems across the nation via satellite \u2013 greatly expanding the channel\u2019s audience.<\/p>\n He took a chance by starting CNN, sometimes derided as the \u201cchicken noodle network\u201d in the early days of cable television. Turner sued the Reagan Administration to gain access to the White House press poll. <\/p>\n “I didn’t care what [or] how much adversity life threw at me. I intended to get to the top,” he told CBS News in 2008.<\/a><\/p>\n CNN became a training ground for young journalists as it tried to find its footing, relaying headlines, sports and other news 24 hours a day, according to NPR.<\/a><\/p>\n “Look, we were young and at times very shoddy<\/a>, but we were the only game in town and we did some extraordinary things,” former CNN executive Eason Jordan told the broadcaster.<\/p>\n CNN\u2019s breakthrough moment came during the Gulf War with Iraq in 1991. While most television journalists fled Baghdad, CNN stayed, capturing arresting images of a war.<\/p>\n Though it created an entirely new standard for cable news, the creation of CNN nearly bankrupted Turner due to its rapid growth and accruing debt. <\/p>\n “I was gonna go broke if I didn’t get things turned around real fast. But I was able to get it refinanced, without government help, I might add, unlike what’s going on today, but we made it. But by the skin on our chinny chin chin. And two years later, we made a run at CBS, unsuccessful, but we did take a swing,” Turner told CBS News.<\/p>\n Eventually, Turner merged his broadcasts with Time Warner in 1996, cementing his status as a giant in the media industry. Although Turner was promised a continued role in CNN after his company\u2019s sale, he was gradually pushed out, much to his regret.<\/p>\n \u201cI made a mistake,\u201d he later said. \u201cThe mistake I made was losing control of the company.\u201d<\/p>\n The same year as the merger, television saw the birth of Fox News Channel and the arrival of a new dominant mogul in cable news, Rupert Murdoch \u2013 whom Turner publicly feuded with for years.<\/p>\n \u2018The Mouth of the South\u2019<\/p>\n Through the years, Turner\u2019s antics and penchant for making brash, controversial statements occasionally overshadowed his professional activities.<\/p>\n He was expelled from Brown University<\/a> for living with his girlfriend in a dorm and, seeking to avoid the Vietnam War draft, joined the Coast Guard because \u201cI liked boats,\u201d as he told the Washington Post.<\/a><\/p>\n After winning the America\u2019s Cup in 1977, Turner became inebriated and was captured stretched out on the floor at the victory celebration.<\/p>\n Turner managed to insult many with his shoot-from-the-lip style. He once called Christianity a \u201creligion for losers\u201d and referred to CNN employees, who wore ashes on their foreheads for Ash Wednesday, as \u201cJesus freaks\u201d who should go work at Fox<\/a> \u2013 then a rival network. He later apologized.<\/p>\n He suggested in a speech that unemployed Black people be used to haul mobile missiles with ropes \u201clike the Egyptians building the pyramids.\u201d After civil rights leaders demanded an apology, he said he was just joking.<\/p>\n Throughout his life, Turner was married and divorced three times: Judy Nye from 1960 to 1964, Jane Shirely Smith from 1965 to 1988 and Jane Fonda from 1991 to 2001.<\/p>\n In her memoir, \u201cMy Life So Far,\u201d Fonda revealed Turner cheated on her early in their relationship. Nevertheless, she referred to him as her \u201cfavorite ex-husband.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n A one-time Atlanta Braves manager <\/strong><\/p>\n Turner went into debt to purchase the Atlanta Braves in 1976, but used his television station to broadcast every game, turning the team into a successful national franchise.<\/p>\n He was well-known for being a hands-on owner \u2013 sometimes to a fault. Amid a 16-straight loss streak in 1977, Turner dismissed the Braves\u2019 manager for 10 days to take the helm<\/a>.<\/p>\n He took charge as the Braves lost against the Pittsburgh Pirates but, ultimately, did not get another chance to manage the franchise because the National League president informed him that he had violated a rule about owners with stock in a team becoming managers.<\/p>\n The following day, Turner returned to his box seats in the audience. <\/p>\n \u201cManaging isn’t all that difficult,\u201d Turner said at the time, according to the New York Times,<\/a> while sipping beer from a cup during the eighth inning. \u201cJust score more runs than the other guy.\u201d<\/p>\n Turner presided over the team during its 1995 World Series championship, as well as for the construction of Turner Field in 1996, which became a key venue for the Atlanta Olympics, The Athletic<\/a> reports. He sold control in 1996.<\/p>\n![\"Ted](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/73959248.jpg\")
Ted Turner, the media tycoon who founded CNN, died at 87 years old (AFP\/Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Turner](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Obit_Ted_Turner_75329.jpg\")
Turner revolutionized cable news in 1980 with the creation of CNN, the first 24-hour news channel (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)<\/p>\n![\"Turner,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-72284625.jpeg\")
Turner, who was once married to actress Jane Fonda, owned the Atlanta Braves and helped establish the team as a national franchise (Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Turner](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2026-05-06T142359Z_109233050_RC2P3LAG82PR_RTRMADP_3_PEOPLE-TED-TURNER.jpg\")
Turner was well-known for making brash statements that occasionally overshadowed his work. He once challenged fellow media mogul Rupert Murdoch to a fist fight (Reuters)<\/p>\n![\"Fonda](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-237935.jpeg\")
Fonda and Turner divorced after roughly 10 years of marriage. She referred to him as her \u2018favorite ex-husband\u2019 (Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Ted](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-236296.jpeg\")
Ted Turner holding up the 1995 World Series trophy after the Atlanta Braves won (Getty)<\/p>\n