Ted Turner, the visionary media entrepreneur who transformed American broadcasting by founding CNN — the world’s first 24-hour cable news network — died peacefully Wednesday surrounded by his family, Turner Enterprises confirmed. He was 87.
Born in Cincinnati and raised in the South, Turner earned the nickname “The Mouth of the South” for his outspoken, unconventional personality. He built one of the most consequential media empires in American history, launching CNN in 1980 at a time when the idea of round-the-clock television news was widely dismissed by the industry establishment. The network went on to redefine how the world receives and consumes news, establishing a model that transformed global journalism and influenced every major broadcast organization that followed.
Turner’s media holdings extended well beyond CNN. He launched TBS — cable’s first superstation — along with TCM, the Turner Classic Movies network, and Cartoon Network, bringing classic film and original animated programming to millions of American homes. His business ventures also included ownership of the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks, teams he ran with the same restless ambition he applied to every endeavor.
Away from the boardroom, Turner was a world-class yachtsman who won the 1977 America’s Cup. He was also among the most significant philanthropists of his generation, donating $1 billion to establish the United Nations Foundation in 1997 — at the time one of the largest charitable gifts in American history. He was a committed activist for nuclear disarmament and a passionate environmentalist who became one of the largest private landowners in the United States, using that land to support bison conservation and help reintroduce the species to the American West. He even channeled his environmental convictions into children’s media, creating the animated series Captain Planet to teach young audiences about ecological responsibility.
Turner had been in declining health in recent years. He is survived by his family and by an extraordinary body of work that reshaped how humanity communicates.
Ted Turner’s death marks the end of an era in American media — one defined by individual vision, risk-taking, and a genuine belief that information should be available to everyone, around the clock, regardless of the hour. Before CNN, television news was a scheduled event. Turner made it a constant. That shift fundamentally changed not just journalism, but how governments communicate during crises, how wars are covered in real time, and how citizens engage with the world around them.
His philanthropic legacy is equally consequential. The United Nations Foundation, which he endowed with $1 billion, has funded global health initiatives, environmental programs, and international cooperation efforts that have touched the lives of people in nearly every country on earth. His conservation work helped restore bison populations that had been reduced to near extinction — a tangible, lasting contribution to the American landscape that will endure for generations.
On a personal level, if you have ever watched breaking news unfold on television, followed an international crisis in real time, or simply had a cable box in your home, Ted Turner’s decisions shaped that experience. He was imperfect, outspoken, and at times deeply controversial — but he was also one of the rare figures who genuinely changed the world. ASC News, which exists in the tradition of independent journalism that CNN helped establish, honors his memory and extends its condolences to his family.
-Elijah Iraheta, Editor-in-Chief, ASC News
