Pioneering CNN founder Ted Turner dead at 87

Ted Turner's later years were dedicated to philanthropy and the environment. Photo / Getty Images

Ted Turner, the flamboyant US entrepreneur who transformed television news with the creation of CNN in 1980 before venturing into philanthropy, has died at the age of 87.

The moustached southerner, champion yachtsman and conservationist, whose empire also included sports clubs, had been suffering from the degenerative disease Lewy Body Dementia.

Cable News Network upended established broadcasting with its dedication to around-the-clock breaking news and shot to global recognition with its coverage of the Gulf War in 1990-91.

The 24-hour network was the first in the United States to run non-stop news and quickly built a worldwide footprint.

“Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognise him and his impact on our lives and the world,” Mark Thompson, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, said today.

Among the most influential figures in media history, Turner earned the title of Time magazine’s man of the year in 1991. He married three times, including to actor Jane Fonda, and had five children.

In a statement, Turner’s family remembered his “no-holds-barred delivery, endearing sense of humour, and undying loyalty to those around him”.

“He charmed people he met with his warmth and general lack of conceit, despite his many successes and celebrity – an attribute made apparent in his response to anyone who addressed him as ‘Mr Turner’ – he’d always reply, ‘Call me Ted!’”

Television empire

President Donald Trump, who regularly brands CNN as “fake news” as part of his wider attacks on US media, praised Turner as “one of the Greats of All Time”.

“Whenever I needed him, he was there, always willing to fight for a good cause!” Trump said in a social media post.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in November 1938, Robert Edward “Ted” Turner III went to a military boarding school in Tennessee and then attended Brown University, but was expelled before graduating.

He took over a faltering family advertising business after his father, despondent over financial problems, committed suicide.

After buying several radio stations, Turner’s purchase of a struggling Atlanta station in 1970 was his first move into television.

Ten years later, that became the flagship of his nationwide Turner Broadcasting System, the profits from which he parlayed into the launch of CNN.

CNN’s success inspired the creation of other 24-hour news channels, including Fox News by longtime Turner rival Rupert Murdoch, MSNBC and countless networks worldwide.

Turner’s television empire also included TBS and TNT channels for sports and entertainment, Turner Classic Movies and Cartoon Network, among others.

Sport and philanthropy

Alongside his business success, Turner was a prominent figure in the sports world.

He bought the Atlanta Braves baseball team in 1976 and the team made several World Series appearances, winning in 1995. The team played on Turner Field until 2016.

Turner also owned the Atlanta Hawks NBA team and the Atlanta Thrashers NHL team. He sold his interest in all three teams in 1996.

In other sports endeavours, Turner successfully skippered the US yacht Courageous to win the 1977 America’s Cup.

His later years were dedicated to philanthropy and the environment.

In 1998, Turner donated a billion dollars to the United Nations to create the UN Foundation, which has focused on climate change, sustainable development, technology and health initiatives.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called Turner “a visionary whose conviction, generosity and audacious spirit left a lasting imprint on the United Nations and our world”.

In 2015, Turner launched the eco-tourism venture Ted Turner Reserves, which enables tourists to visit his four properties in New Mexico and learn about conservation efforts.

– AFP