CNN Founder Ted Turner Dies at 87

Media mogul and entrepreneur Ted Turner, who revolutionized the television industry by launching the Cable News Network (CNN) in 1980, has died at the age of 87.

Key points

• Turner began his career by managing his father's billboard company before expanding into a vast media empire that included TBS, TNT, and Cartoon Network.
• He was a prominent philanthropist, notably donating $1 billion to the United Nations in 1997.
• Turner was also a noted environmentalist and one of the largest private landowners in the United States.
• He had previously disclosed a diagnosis of Lewy body dementia in 2018.

Why it matters

Ted Turner's creation of the first 24-hour news channel fundamentally transformed global media consumption and the way historical events are reported.