CNN Founder Ted Turner Dead at 87
Ted Turner, the media tycoon and founder of CNN who created the 24-hour news cycle, has died at the age of 87.As a broadcaster, Turner revolutionized television with programming including the first 24-hour news network and Turner Classic Films, a channel devoted to Hollywood classics. Cartoon Network brought sitcoms and syndicated morning cartoons to Turner’s round-the-clock broadcasting format, and TBS and TNT mixed programming including sports, with an emphasis on baseball.In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, David Levy, a TV exec who helped Turner secure sports broadcasting rights, remarked on his brilliance as a businessman who was ahead of his time. “People use this word a lot,” Levy said, “but Ted truly was a visionary.”Turner appeared in the pages of Vanity Fair numerous times over the course of his life, including in several editions of the magazine's New Establishment list. The January 1997 feature story "Cable Guys" chronicled Turner's rivalry with fellow media titan Rupert Murdoch.Jane Fonda, who was married to Turner from 1991 to 2001, called him “brave, brash, and edgy” in her 2005 autobiography. Speaking to Vanity Fair in 2023, the actress, who was married three times, called Turner her “favorite” husband. In his later years, Turner was a philanthropist known for his support of the United Nations, denuclearization, and environmental causes.
