CNN founder and business mogul Ted Turner has died at age 87.
Turner pioneered the media industry with the creation of a 24-hour cable news network in 1980.
Turner revealed a diagnosis of Lewy body dementia in 2018. The degenerative disease caused memory problems and exhaustion. He died peacefully and was surrounded by family, according to CNN.
“Ted Turner, one of the Greats of All Time, just died. He founded CNN, sold it, and was personally devastated by the Deal because the new ownership took CNN, his ‘baby,’ and destroyed it,” President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“It 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,” Trump continued. “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!”
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Turner made his fortune first through advertising in the state of Georgia before starting his media empire. Turner entered the television business in 1970 when he acquired Atlanta independent UHF station channel 17, according to the Turner Enterprises website. In 1976, he purchased Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves and launched TBS, which launched the “Superstation” concept.
In 1980, Turner forever changed cable and the way Americans consume information when he launched CNN, the first live, 24-hour news network. But the media pioneer wasn’t finished, and he went on to launch CNN Headline News, CNN International, TNT, Cartoon Network and Turner Classic Movies.
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Turner’s company merged with Time Warner Inc. in 1996, and Time Warner merged with AOL in 2001. Turner departed the company in 2003 and stepped down from the board in 2005.
“Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgment,” CNN CEO Mark Thompson said in a statement.
“He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN,” Thompson added. “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.”
Turner was also one of America’s most influential philanthropists and conservationists, and he was named Time magazine’s Man of the Year in 1991 for his impact on the world. Turner, also an internationally known yachtsman, founded the United Nations Foundation.
Turner’s ownership is often credited with the rise of the Atlanta Braves’ national fan base, thanks to its presence on TBS. After struggles through the 1980s, the Braves became one of baseball’s most successful teams in the 1990s and brought home Atlanta’s first major league sports championship with their 1995 World Series title.
The Braves played at Turner Field, named in their owner’s honor, from 1997 to 2016. The stadium was formerly Centennial Olympic Stadium during the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.
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Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, who oversees CNN’s current parent company, praised Turner as a visionary.
“Ted’s entrepreneurial spirit, creative ambition and willingness to take risks changed the media industry forever. He believed deeply in the power of ideas, in doing things differently and in building platforms that could inform, inspire and connect people around the world. That belief inspired generations of leaders, myself included. He did not just disrupt media. He transformed it,” Zaslav said in a memo to staffers.
“In 1980, many questioned the logic of launching CNN, the world’s first 24-hour news network. Ted believed the world deserved access to news as it happened, and he acted on that conviction. CNN fundamentally changed how the world experiences history in real time, and its impact on journalism continues to be felt every day through the work of our teams,” he continued. “Ted’s influence is woven throughout Warner Bros. Discovery. The brands he built and championed remain central to who we are, and they continue to reflect his belief in creative risk, cultural impact and global reach. Through CNN, TCM, Turner Sports and across our portfolio, his vision remains present in the work our teams do every day.”
Turner was also Broadcasting and Cable’s Man of the Century in 1999 and one of TIME 100 World’s Most Influential People in 2009. He received the 2011 Palazzo Strozzi Foundation’s Renaissance Man of the Year award, the Overseas Press Club Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 and was honored by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 35th Annual Sports Emmy Awards in 2014.
“He was an American trailblazer,” Fox News anchor Bill Hemmer said Wednesday.
Turner is survived by five children, 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was married three times, including to actress Jane Fonda, with whom he remained close even after their divorce in 2001.
Fox News Digital’s David Rutz contributed to this report.
