Ted Turner, CNN founder and media mogul, dies at 87
via SeneNews3 min read
Ted Turner, the audacious and provocative founder of CNN and a pioneer of 24-hour news, has died at 87. Turner, who also became an influential philanthropist, was honored by Donald Trump as a "great name in television history." In 2018, the media magnate revealed he was suffering from Lewy body dementia, a neurodegenerative disease with symptoms similar to Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in November 1938, Turner attended military boarding school before Brown University, from which he was expelled. He entered business by taking over his father's struggling advertising company and acquired an Atlanta television station in 1970. This station became the foundation of his national network, Turner Broadcasting System, which enabled him to launch CNN in 1980. CNN, the first 24-hour news channel, gained prominence in the US and internationally, notably for its live coverage of the first Gulf War 1990-1991 via satellite technology. CNN's success inspired numerous other 24-hour news channels, including Fox News, founded by Turner's long-time rival Rupert Murdoch. Turner also had a passion for sports, owning the Atlanta Braves baseball team, the Atlanta Hawks basketball team, and the Atlanta Thrashers ice hockey team. He won the America's Cup in 1977 as skipper of the yacht Courageous. A maritime incident in 1983 further fueled his rivalry with Murdoch when a yacht sponsored by Murdoch collided with Turner's during the Sydney-Hobart race, sinking Turner's schooner
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