Ted Turner | |
|---|---|
 Turner in 2015 | |
| Born | Robert Edward Turner III (1938-11-19)November 19, 1938 (age 87) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Brown University |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1960–present |
| Known for |
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| Spouses | |
| Children | 5 |
| Website | tedturner |
| Signature | |
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Robert Edward Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer,media proprietor, andphilanthropist. He founded theCable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hourcable news channel. In addition, he foundedWTBS, which pioneered thesuperstation concept incable television, as well as television networksTBS andTNT.
As a philanthropist, he gave $1 billion to create theUnited Nations Foundation, a public charity to broaden U.S. support for theUnited Nations. Turner serves asChairman of the United Nations Foundationboard of directors.[1] Additionally, in 2001, Turner co-founded theNuclear Threat Initiative with US senatorSam Nunn (D-GA). NTI is a non-partisan organization dedicated to reducing global reliance on, and preventing the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. He currently serves as co-chairman of the board of directors.
Turner's media empire began with his father'sbillboard business, Turner Outdoor Advertising, which he took over in March 1963 after his father's suicide.[2] It was worth $1 million. His purchase of anAtlantaUHF station in 1970 began theTurner Broadcasting System. In 1980 he founded CNN, now one of the most prominent news networks in the world. Turner turned theAtlanta Braves baseball team into a nationally popular franchise (including winning the1995 World Series under his ownership), and launched the charitableGoodwill Games. He helped revive interest inprofessional wrestling by purchasingJim Crockett Promotions which was then rebranded asWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW).
Turner's penchant for controversial statements earned him the nicknames "The Mouth of the South" and "Captain Outrageous".[3][4] Turner has also devoted his assets to environmental causes. He was the largest private landowner in the United States untilJohn C. Malone surpassed him in 2011.[5][6] He uses much of his land for ranches to re-popularizebison meat (for hisTed's Montana Grill chain) and has amassed the largest herd in the world. He also created the environmental-themed animated seriesCaptain Planet and the Planeteers.[7]
Turner was born on November 19, 1938, inCincinnati, Ohio,[8] the son of Florence (née Rooney) and Robert Edward Turner II, a billboardmagnate.[9] When he was nine, his family moved toSavannah, Georgia, and raised him as anEpiscopalian.[10] He attendedThe McCallie School, a private boys' preparatory school inChattanooga, Tennessee.
Turner attendedBrown University and was vice-president of theBrown Debating Union and captain of the sailing team. He became a member ofKappa Sigma. Turner initially majored inclassics. His father wrote saying that this choice made him "appalled, even horrified", and that he "almost puked".[11] Turner later changed his major toeconomics, but before receiving a degree, he wasexpelled for having a female student in his dormitory room.[12] Turner was awarded an honorary B.A. from Brown University in November 1989 when he returned to campus to give the keynote address for theNational Association of College Broadcasters second annual conference.
Expelled from Brown just as tensions inVietnam were beginning to heat up, Turner joined theUnited States Coast Guard Reserve in order to fill his service obligation before he ended up gettingdrafted. Honored by theUnited States Navy Memorial with itsLone Sailor Award in 2013, Turner toldThe Washington Post, "I liked boats", and ended up getting "deployed to some pretty sweet places – Charleston and Fort Lauderdale."[13]
After leaving Brown University, Turner returned to the South in late 1960 to become general manager of theMacon, Georgia, branch of his father's business. Following his father's suicide in March 1963, Turner became president and chief executive of Turner Advertising Company when he was 24 and turned the firm into a global enterprise. He joined theYoung Republicans, saying he "felt at ease among these budding conservatives and was merely following in [his father]'s far-right footsteps", according toIt Ain't as Easy as It Looks.[2]
During theVietnam War era, Turner's business prospered; it had "virtual monopolies in Savannah, Macon,Columbus, andCharleston" and was the "largest outdoor advertising company in the Southeast", according toIt Ain't as Easy as It Looks. The book observed that Turner "discovered his father had sheltered a substantial amount of taxable income over the years by personally lending it back to the company" and "discovered that the billboard business could be a gold mine, a tax-depreciable revenue stream that threw off enormous amounts of cash with almost no capital investment".[14]
In the late 1960s Turner began buying several Southern radio stations.[15] In 1969, he sold his radio stations to buy a struggling television station in Atlanta,UHF Channel 17WJRJ (now WPCH).[16] At the time, UHF stations did well only in markets withoutVHF stations, likeFresno, California, or in markets with only one station on VHF. Independent UHF stations were not ratings winners or that profitable even in larger markets, but Turner concluded that this would change as people wanted more than several choices. He changed thecall sign to WTCG, erroneously claimed to have stood for "WatchThisChannelGrow" but in actuality stood forTurnerCommunicationsGroup.[17] Initially, the station ran old movies from prior decades, along with theatrical cartoons and bygone sitcoms and drama programs. As a better syndicated product fell off the VHF stations, Turner would acquire it for his station at a very low price. WTCG ran mostly second- and even third-hand programming of the time, including fare such asGilligan's Island,I Love Lucy,Star Trek,Hazel, andBugs Bunny. Other low-cost content included humoristBill Tush reading the news at 3 a.m., prompting Turner to jokingly comment that, "we have a 100% share at this time". Tush once delivered the news with his "co-anchor" Rex, aGerman Shepherd. The dog (who belonged to an associate) was shown next to Tush on set, wearing a shirt and tie while eating a peanut butter sandwich. Rex appeared only on one episode, but a myth grew where many people thought the dog was a nightly guest.[18] By 1972, WTCG had acquired the rights to telecastAtlanta Braves andAtlanta Hawks games.[19] Turner would go on to purchase UHF Channel 36WRET (now WCNC) inCharlotte, North Carolina, and ran it with a format similar to WTCG.[citation needed]
In 1976, theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) allowed WTCG to use a satellite to transmit content to local cable television providers around the nation. On December 17, 1976, the rechristened WTCG-TV Super-Station began to broadcast old movies,situation comedy reruns, cartoons, and sports nationwide to cable-television subscribers.[20] As cable systems developed, many carried his station to free their schedules, which increased his viewers and advertising. The number of subscribers eventually reached 2 million and Turner's net worth rose to $100 million. He bought a 5,000-acre (2,000 ha) plantation in Jacksonboro, South Carolina, for $2 million.[21]
In 1976, Turner bought the Atlanta Braves, and in 1977, he bought the Atlanta Hawks, partially to provide programming for WTCG.[22][23] Using the rechristened WTBS superstation's status to broadcast Braves games into nearly every home in North America, Turner turned the Braves into a household name even before their run of success in the 1990s and early 2000s.[24] At one point, he suggested to pitcherAndy Messersmith, who wore number 17, that he change his surname to "Channel" to promote the television station.[25]
In 1978, Turner struck a deal with a student-operated radio station atMIT,Technology Broadcasting System (now WMBR), to obtain the rights to the WTBS call sign for $50,000. Such a move allowed Turner to strengthen the branding of his "Super-Station" using the initials TBS. Turner Communications Group was renamedTurner Broadcasting System and WTCG was renamedWTBS.[26]
In 1986, Turner founded theGoodwill Games with the goal of easing tensions between capitalist and communist countries. Broadcasting the events of these games also provided his superstation the ability to provide Olympic-style sports programming.[27]
Turner Field, first used for the1996 Summer Olympics asCentennial Olympic Stadium and then converted into a baseball-only facility for the Braves, was named after him.[28]
In 1978, Turner contacted media executiveReese Schonfeld about his plans to launch a 24-hour news channel (Schonfeld had previously approached Turner with the proposition in 1977 but was rebuffed).[29] Schonfeld responded that it could be done with a staff of 300 if they used an all electronic newsroom and satellites for all transmissions.[29] It would require an initial investment of $15 million–$20 million and several million dollars per month to operate.[29]
In 1979, Turner sold his North Carolina station,WRET, to fund the transaction and established its headquarters in lower-cost, non-unionAtlanta.[29] Schonfeld was appointed first president and chief executive of the then-namedCable News Network (CNN).[29] CNN hired Jim Kitchell, former general manager of news atNBC as vice president of production and operations;Sam Zelman as vice president of news and executive producer;Bill MacPhail as head of sports, Ted Kavanau as director of personnel, andBurt Reinhardt as vice president of the network.[29] In 1982, Schonfeld was succeeded as CEO by Turner after a dispute over Schonfeld's firing ofSandi Freeman; and was succeeded as president by CNN's executive vice president,Burt Reinhardt.[30]
Turner famously stated before CNN debuted: "We won't be signing off until the world ends. We'll be on, and we will cover the end of the world, live, and that will be our last event... we'll play the National Anthem only one time, on the 1st of June [the network's debut on June 1, 1980], and when the end of the world comes, we'll play 'Nearer, My God, to Thee' before we sign off." Reportedly, Turner plans to make good on that promise. He commissioned a video recording of a military marching band playing the hymn. Turner has sometimes played the tape for reporters, noting the reason he made it. In 2015, the video was found in CNN's database and leaked. The video was tagged in the database as "[Hold for release] till end of world confirmed".[31]
In 1981, Turner Broadcasting System acquiredBrut Productions fromFaberge Inc.[32]
After a failed attempt to acquireCBS, Turner purchased the film studioMGM/UA Entertainment Co. fromKirk Kerkorian in 1986 for $1.5 billion.[33] Following the acquisition, Turner had amassed enormous debt and sold parts of the acquisition; Kerkorian bought back MGM/UA Entertainment. The MGM/UA Studio lot inCulver City was sold toLorimar/Telepictures. Turner kept MGM's pre-May 1986 and pre-merger film and television library.[34][35]
Turner Entertainment was established in August 1986 to oversee film and television properties owned by Turner thanks to the deal with Kerkorian.
Having acquired MGM's library of 2,200 films that were made before 1986, Turner syndicated them to television stations across the country.[33] When broadcasting some older films originally filmed in black-and-white, he airedcolorized versions of them.[36] Opposition to Turner's colorization arose among cinephiles, film critics, actors, and directors. Film criticRoger Ebert wrote that broadcasting a colorizedCasablanca "will be one of the saddest days in the history of the movies. It is sad because it demonstrates that there is no movie that Turner will spare, no classic however great that is safe from the vulgarity of his computerized graffiti gangs."[37] Due in part to Turner's colorization, theLibrary of Congress established theNational Film Registry with the aim to preserve American films in their original formats.[38]
In 1988, Turner purchasedJim Crockett Promotions. He renamed itWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW), which became the main competitor toVince McMahon'sWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF). This rivalry became known as theMonday Night War, and would last throughout the 1990s. In 2001, underAOL Time Warner, WCW wassold to the WWF.[39]
Also in 1988, Turner introducedTurner Network Television (TNT) withGone with the Wind. TNT, initially showing older movies and television shows, added original programs and newer reruns. Turner would later createTurner Classic Movies (TCM) in 1994, airing Turner's pre-1986 MGM library of films alongside those ofWarner Bros. made before 1950, though it has expanded its library since.[citation needed]
In 1989, Turner created theTurner Tomorrow Fellowship for fiction offering positive solutions to global problems. The winner, from 2500 entries worldwide, wasDaniel Quinn'sIshmael.
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Ted Turner: Captain Planet – a 2019 documentary hosted by Dr. Sanjay Gupta highlighting the personal life, career, and the environmental work of Ted Turner (CNN Philippines, full episode) |
In 1990, he created the Turner Foundation, which focuses on philanthropic grants concerning issues pertaining to the environment and overpopulation. In the same year he createdCaptain Planet, an environmentalsuperhero. Turner produced the television seriesCaptain Planet and the Planeteers and its later sequel series with Captain Planet as the featured character.[40]
In 1992, the pre-May 1986 MGM library, which also included Warner Bros. properties including the earlyLooney Tunes andMerrie Melodies libraries and also the Fleischer Studios and Famous StudiosPopeye cartoons from Paramount (and then United Artists), became the core ofCartoon Network. A year before, Turner's companies purchasedHanna-Barbera Productions (whose longtime parent,Taft/Great American Broadcasting, had been headquartered in Turner's original hometown of Cincinnati), beating out several other bidders includingMCA Inc. (whose subsidiaries includedUniversal Pictures andUniversal Destinations & Experiences) andHallmark Cards. With the 1996 Time Warner merger, the channel's archives gained the later Warner Bros. cartoon library as well as other Time Warner-owned cartoons.[citation needed]
In 1993, Turner and Russian journalist Eduard Sagalajev founded the Moscow Independent Broadcasting Corporation (MIBC). This corporation operated the sixth frequency in Russian television and founded the Russian channelTV-6.[41] The company was later purchased by Russian businessmanBoris Berezovsky and an unknown group of private persons. In 2007 the license for TV-6 had expired and there was no application for renewal.[citation needed]
In 1993, Turner also considered acquiringParamount Pictures, but withdrew from this endeavor following a meeting with then-QVC headBarry Diller.[42]
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Turner Broadcasting System merged with Time Warner on October 10, 1996, with Turner asvice chairman and head of Time Warner and Turner's cable networks division.[43] Turner was dropped as head of cable networks by CEOGerald Levin but remained as Vice Chairman of Time Warner. He would be succeeded in March 2001 as head of Turner Broadcasting byJamie Kellner, who was also greatly responsible for cancellingWCW's television contracts on networks which Turner previously ran.[44][45][46] He resigned as AOL Time Warner vice chairman in 2003 and then from the Time Warner board of directors in 2006.[47][48]
On January 11, 2001, Time Warner was purchased byAmerica Online (AOL) to become AOL Time Warner,[49] a merger which Turner initially supported.[50] However, the burst of thedot-com bubble hurt the growth and profitability of the AOL division, which in turn dragged down AOL Time Warner's performance and stock price. At a board meeting in fall 2001, Turner's outburst against AOL Time Warner CEOGerald Levin eventually led to Levin's announced resignation effective in early 2002, being replaced byRichard Parsons.[51] In contrast to Levin, who as CEO isolated Turner from important company matters, Parsons invited Turner back to provide strategic advice, although Turner never received an operational role that he sought.[52] Time Warner dropped "AOL" from its name in October 2003. In December 2009, AOL was spun off from the Time Warner conglomerate as a separate company.[citation needed]
Turner was Time Warner's biggest individual shareholder.[51] It is estimated he lost as much as $7 billion when the stock collapsed in the wake of the merger.[53] When asked about buying back his former assets, he replied that he "can't afford them now".[54] In June 2014,Rupert Murdoch's21st Century Fox made a bid for Time Warner valuing it at $80 billion. The Time Warner board rejected the offer and it was formally withdrawn on August 5, 2014.[55]
Turner had a long-running feud with fellow cable magnate Rupert Murdoch for years. This originated in 1983 when a Murdoch-sponsored yacht collided with the yacht skippered by Turner,Condor, during theSydney to Hobart Yacht Race, causing it to run aground 6.2 miles (10.0 km) from the finish line. At the post-race dinner, a drunken Turner verbally assaulted Murdoch, afterward challenging him to a televised fistfight inLas Vegas.[56]
Murdoch'sFox News, established in 1996, became a rival to Turner's CNN, a channel that Murdoch regarded with disdain for its "liberal slant" in news coverage. Time Warner declined to carry it on their New York City cable network in response, who in the midst of a merger, Turner said would "squash Rupert Murdoch like a bug."[57]
In 2003, Turner challenged Murdoch to another fistfight, and later on accused Murdoch of being a "warmonger" for his support and backing of PresidentGeorge W. Bush'sinvasion of Iraq.[58][59]
However, revealing in an interview withVariety in 2019, Turner said he and Murdoch have since made amends.[60]
| Ted Turner | |
|---|---|
| Atlanta Braves – No. 27 | |
| Manager | |
| Born: (1938-11-19)November 19, 1938 (age 87) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 11, 1977, for the Atlanta Braves | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| May 11, 1977, for the Atlanta Braves | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Games | 1 |
| Win–loss record | 0–1 |
| Winning % | .000 |
| Managerial record atBaseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
For most of his first decade as owner of the Braves, Turner was a very hands-on owner. This peaked in 1977, his second year as owner.[citation needed]
Turner was suspended for one year byCommissioner of BaseballBowie Kuhn on January 3, 1977, for his actions while pursuing the signing of free agent outfielderGary Matthews from theSan Francisco Giants. Matthews signed a five-year, $1.875 million contract with the Braves on November 18, 1976. Kuhn's actions stemmed from remarks made by Turner to then-Giants ownerBob Lurie during the1976 World Series. In addition, the Braves were also stripped of their first-round selections in the June 1978 draft of high school and college players.[61] Turner, however, successfully appealed the suspension and Kuhn relented and reinstated the draft selections, one of which would turn out to beBob Horner fromArizona State University.[62]
On May 11, 1977, with the team mired in a 16-game losing streak, Turner sent managerDave Bristol on a 10-day "scouting trip" and Turner himself took over as interim manager – the first owner/manager in the majors sinceConnie Mack. He ran the team for one game (a loss to thePittsburgh Pirates)[63] beforeNational League presidentChub Feeney ordered him to stop running the team. Feeney cited major league rules which bar managers and players from owning stock in their clubs. Turner appealed toCommissioner of BaseballBowie Kuhn, and showed up to manage the Braves when they returned home. However, Kuhn turned down the appeal, citing Turner's "lack of familiarity with game operations."[64]
In the mid-1980s Turner began leaving day-to-day operations to the baseball operations staff, and the team (still under Turner's ownership) won the1995 World Series.
The Atlanta Braves were sold by Time Warner (which had assumed control after the merger with Turner Broadcasting System) to Liberty Media in 2007.[65]
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On September 19, 2006, in a Reuters Newsmaker conference, Turner said of Iran's nuclear position: "They're a sovereign state. We have 28,000. Why can't they have 10? We don't say anything about Israel—they've got 100 of them approximately—or India or Pakistan or Russia."[74]
A proponent ofhealthcare reform bills, Turner has said: "We’re the only first-world country that doesn't haveuniversal healthcare and it's a disgrace."[75]
In 2010, during the wake of both the devastatingDeepwater Horizon environmental disaster and theUpper Big Branch Mine disaster that killed 29 miners inWest Virginia, Turner stated on CNN that "I'm just wondering if God is telling us he doesn't want to drill offshore. And right before that, we had that coal mine disaster in West Virginia where we lost 29 miners ... Maybe the Lord's tired of having the mountains of West Virginia, the tops knocked off of them so they may get more coal. I think maybe we ought to just leave the coal in the ground and go with solar and wind power and geothermals ..."[76]
Turner endorsed Democratic candidateHillary Clinton in the run-up for the 2016 U.S. presidential election.[77] In 2018 he revealed he had once considered a run for president when he was married toJane Fonda, who told him she would leave him if he did.[78]
Along with advocating for clean water and improved stewardship of the land, Turner established the Turner Foundation to address ways to curb population growth.[79] Turner has put $125 million of his own money into the foundation and has set aside $6 million per year to address population growth rates. Addressing the issue at a Montana gathering in 1996 he said "I'm not talking about getting rid of anybody here, I've got 5 children myself." He went on to discuss hunger and poverty and ways to address those issues.[80]
In 2009 Turner met with other business moguls to includeOprah Winfrey,Bill Gates,George Soros andDavid Rockefeller to address issues ranging from the environment to healthcare. The group also addressed population growth with discussion of vaccines and immunization efforts being criticized due to the perception that decision making and public policy could be directed by a handful of elites. Although no formal statement was released, the event was covered by Paul Harris forThe Guardian.[81]
Turner once called observers ofAsh Wednesday "Jesus freaks", though he apologized,[82] and dubbed opponents ofabortion "bozos".[82]
In 1999, Turner made a joke aboutPolish mine detectors when asked aboutPope John Paul II. After a harsh response from the Polish deputy foreign ministerRadek Sikorski, Turner apologized.[83]
In 2002, Turner accusedIsrael of terror: "ThePalestinians are fighting with humansuicide bombers, that's all they have. The Israelis ... they've got one of the most powerful military machines in the world. The Palestinians have nothing. So who are the terrorists? I would make a case that both sides are involved in terrorism." He apologized for that and the remarks in 2011 about the9/11 hijackers, but also defended himself: "Look, I'm a very good thinker, but I sometimes grab the wrong word ... I mean, I don't type my speeches, then sit up there and read them off the teleprompter, you know. I wing it."[84]
Also in 2008, Turner asserted onPBS'sCharlie Rose that if steps are not taken to addressglobal warming, most people would die and "the rest of us will becannibals". Turner also said in the interview that he advocated Americans having no more than two children. In 2010, he stated that China'sone-child policy should be implemented.[85]
Turner Enterprises, Inc. (TEI) is a private American company that was founded in 1976 and manages the business interests, land holdings and investments of Ted Turner,[86] including the oversight of Turner's 24 properties across the United States and Argentina. At two million acres of personal and ranch land, Turner is the second-largest landowner in North America.[87] He owned 19 ranches – 16 in the western U.S. and three in Argentina.[87] In January 2016, theOsage Nation bought Turner's 43,000 acre (170 km2) Bluestem Ranch inOsage County, Oklahoma. Turner had purchased the property in 2001 primarily to raise bison.[citation needed]
Through Turner Enterprises, he owns ranches inColorado,Kansas,Montana,Nebraska,New Mexico,Oklahoma, andSouth Dakota.[88][89] Totaling 1,910,585 acres (7,731.86 km2), his land-holdings across America make Turner one of the largest individual landowners in North America (by acreage).[89] According to the Flatwater Free Press, a Nebraska non-profit newspaper, Turner is the largest owner of Nebraska farmland.[90]
TEI ranches are primarily used for bison ranching. His bison herd, approximately 51,000 animals on 15 ranches, is the largest private herd in the world.[87] The company's mission statement is "To manage Turner lands in an economically sustainable and ecologically sensitive manner while promoting the conservation of native species."[87] Other important wildlife species on the property include whitetail deer, wild turkey and bobwhite quail.[91] In addition to bison ranching, TEI ranches are also used for commercial fishing and hunting, as well as limited sustainable timber harvesting, as well as eco-tourism on the New Mexico ranches.[87] His biggest ranch isVermejo Reserve in New Mexico. At 920 square miles (2,400 km2), it is the largest privately owned, contiguous tract of land in theUnited States.[92]
TEI works closely with Turner's philanthropic and charitable interests, including the founding and ongoing operations of theUnited Nations Foundation,Nuclear Threat Initiative, Turner Foundation,[93] Captain Planet Foundation,[94] and the Turner Endangered Species Fund.[86] Turner Enterprises is headquartered in the Turner Building (formerly theBona Allen Office Building) inAtlanta, Georgia, also home to theTed's Montana Grill restaurant chain, Ted Turner Reserves[95] and Turner Renewable Energy.[96][97] In 2011, Ted Turner and TEI completed construction of a 25-panel solar array in the company's parking lot, which provides solar power to the Turner Building and its businesses[98]
Chaired by Turner, TEI's executive leadership also includes CEO & President S. Taylor Glover.[99]
Turner has been married and divorced three times: to Judy Nye (1960–1964), Jane Shirley Smith (1965–1988), and actressJane Fonda (1991–2001). He has five children.[100] In a television interview withPiers Morgan on May 3, 2012, Turner said he had four girlfriends, which he acknowledged was complicated but nonetheless easier than being married.[101] One of Turner's children, Robert Edward "Teddy" Turner IV, announced on January 23, 2013, that he intended to run in theSouth CarolinaRepublican primary for the open Congressional seat vacated byTim Scott who was appointed to theUS Senate.[102] Turner's son came in 4th, receiving 7.90% of the vote.[103]
In 2010, Turner joinedWarren Buffett's andBill Gates'sThe Giving Pledge, vowing to donate the majority of his fortune to charity upon his death.[104]
In the 1993 biographyIt Ain't As Easy as It Looks by Porter Bibb, Turner discussed his use oflithium and struggles with mental illness. The 1981 biographyLead, Follow or Get Out of the Way byChristian Williams chronicles the founding of CNN.[105] In 2008, Turner wroteCall Me Ted, which documents his career and personal life.[106]
In an interview onCBS Sunday Morning in 2018, Turner revealed his diagnosis ofLewy body dementia.[107]
| Sport | |
|---|---|
| Sailing career | |
| Club |  Savannah Yacht Club |
| College team |  Brown University |
When Turner was 26, he entered sailing competitions at theSavannah Yacht Club and competed in Olympic trials in 1964.[108] He first attempted to win theAmerica's Cup in1974, losing in the defender's trials, aboard12 Metre class yacht US–25Mariner.[109] Turner was defeated byTed Hood aboard US–26Courageous.
Turner was asked to join the1977 America's Cup defense syndicate formed by Hood and Lee Loomis for theNew York Yacht Club. That group still owned theCourageous but decided to design and construct a new 12 Metre - US–28Independence - to defend the 1974 America's Cup victory. However, in the trials, with Turner asskipper aboard the 3-year-oldCourageous proved to be the faster than Hood andIndependence[110] and was selected to race in the 1977 races.
From 13 to 18 September 1977Courageous, with Turner in command, defeated the challengerAustralia, skippered byNoel Robins, in a four-race sweep.[111]Courageous' greatest winning margin out of all four races was 2 minutes and 23 seconds.[111][112]
In the1979 Fastnet Race, in a storm that killed 15 participants, he skippered theS&S-designed[113] 61-footerTenacious to a corrected-time victory.[114]
Turner appeared on the cover ofSports Illustrated on July 4, 1977,[115] after winning 1977 America's Cup.[116]Turner was inducted into theAmerica's Cup Hall of Fame in 1993,[117] and theNational Sailing Hall of Fame in 2011.[118]
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Turner has been regarded as one of the entrepreneurs who transformed the cable industry and being referred to as "theAlexander the Great of broadcasting" bySlate magazine:[119]
While Turner has been described as a "valiant liberator" and cast the networks as oppressive scoundrels, in content his programming fell short of inspiring. His network was built on sitcom reruns, old movies, cartoons, and Atlanta Braves games. He found an audience for classics of a bygone time, along with slightly down-market content like professional wrestling. Nonetheless, he would find glorious terms even for retreads and junk, claiming to be pulling America back to television's golden age: "I want to get it back to the principles" he once said, "that made us good." Nostalgic, Manichean, and boot-strappy: like programmer, like programming[119]
The cable industry boomed in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as nearly a dozen cable networks launched based on the Turner model. They include much of what we now consider the staples of cable TV, includingESPN,MTV,Bravo,Showtime,BET, theDiscovery Channel, and theWeather Channel. Those are the better-known channels only by virtue of having survived; others, such as ARTS, CBS Cable, and the Satellite News Channel, folded or were acquired by other companies[119]
Bob Hope, who is co-owner and president of Hope-Beckham, an independent agency based in Atlanta that previously worked for Turner in his networks, has described that "Ted Turner was special. His vision and his determination and his unwillingness to quit were infectious. He was willing to start small and had the persistence and patience to make his ideas grow".[120] Hope also further reiterated that "In some ways, he was outrageous, but in most ways he was remarkable. He had great passion for doing what was right for the world. He stated his dream of using communication to bring peace, to tell both sides of any story, that 'one man's terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.' If he could get people to understand each other, there would be no wars. His vision was bold and infectious. His Goodwill Games, his creation of theUN Foundation, and his approach to news on the original CNN were passions for peace".[120]
Professional wrestling promoter and former Senior Vice President ofWCW second in charge after Turner,Eric Bischoff praised Turner claiming "He was an inspirational leader, he was a risk taker, he appreciated people who took risks, he was not afraid of failure while most people are. Ted was not afraid to fail, he was more afraid of not trying and not conquering that next horizon.”[121]
On June 24, 1999,Vince McMahon stated onLate Night with Conan O'Brien: "All I'll say about Ted is he's a son-of-a-bitch, other than that, he's probably not a bad guy, but I don't like him at all".[122] Later in 2021, when asked about the upstartAEW in comparison to Turner's WCW, McMahon dismissed AEW, stating that "it certainly is not a situation where 'rising tides' because that was when Ted Turner was coming after us with all of Time Warner's assets as well".[123]
In 2010 Turner was named a Georgia Trustee, an honor given by theGeorgia Historical Society, in conjunction with the Governor of Georgia, to individuals whose accomplishments and community service reflect the ideals of the founding body of Trustees, which governed theGeorgia colony from 1732 to 1752.
Renamed Turner Field – after Ted Turner, the founder of Cable News Network (CNN) whose global headquarters are in the city – the stadium has hosted Major League Baseball (MLB) for almost 20 years.
| External videos | |
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| Presentation by Auletta onMedia Man, November 4, 2004,C-SPAN |
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