Media legend Ted Turner, the bold entrepreneur who built Cable News Network, Inc. (CNN) and changed how the world consumes news, has died at 87. CNN confirmed the news on Wednesday, May 6, citing a statement from Turner Enterprises. No cause of death was released.
Turner was the man who turned a single Atlanta TV station into a 24-hour global news powerhouse in 1980, a move many thought was madness at the time. CNN became the first all-news cable channel and reshaped journalism forever.
Known as the “Mouth of the South,” “Captain Outrageous,” and “Terrible Ted,” he was as famous for his roguish personality as for his business instincts. From sailing to sports ownership and environmental philanthropy, Turner lived loud and left an imprint far beyond the newsroom.
In 2018, he disclosed he was battling Lewy body dementia, a progressive neurological condition. Turner’s legacy isn’t just CNN. It’s the idea that news doesn’t sleep, and neither should ambition.
