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The media industry has lost a trailblazer.
Ted Turner—the founder of CNN—died May 6, according to a release from Turner Enterprises. He was 87.
“Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgement,” Chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide Mark Thompson said in a statement. “He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN. Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world.”
Turner is survived by his five children Laura Turner Seydel, Teddy Turner, Rhett Turner, Beau Turner, and Jennie Turner Garlington.
In 2018, Turner shared he had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, in which protein deposits called Lewy bodies develop in nerve cells in the brain, affecting thinking, memory and movement, according to Mayo Clinic.
"It's a mild case of what people have as Alzheimer's. It's similar to that. But not nearly as bad. Alzheimer's is fatal," Turner told CBS News at the time. "Thank goodness I don't have that.”
Taking a pause, Turner—previously married to Jane Fonda, Jane Shirley Smith and Julia Gale Nye—added that he does, however, have “dementia. I can't remember what my disease is."
As for his symptoms, he shared that he was feeling "tired, exhausted. That's the main symptoms and forgetfulness."
Photo by Ben Rose/Getty Images for UNICEF
Back in 1975, Turner shattered the broadcast glass ceiling with his invention of the superstation, which used satellite technology to beam what became the Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) far beyond local markets.
Five years later, he founded CNN, pioneering the 24-hour news network and revolutionizing TV news, before selling it to Time Warner in 1996.
“I’m like the bear that went over the mountain to see what he could see,” he said in a 1994 interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “One thing opened up, then another, and I kept moving on."
In addition to his business ventures, Turner was also a proud philanthropist, establishing the United Nations Foundation in 1998. He was also an activist against nuclear weapons and conservationist, who became one of the foremost landowners in the United States.
Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images
Alongside his ex-wife Fonda, he founded the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (G-CAPP).
At the organizations November gala, she shared that the org "never would have happened if it wasn't for Ted."
"It was a very challenging time in Georgia,” the Oscar winner told the crowd. “Had I not been with Ted, this was something, had he not stood by me with his love and support, we never would have survived.”
Growing emotional, she continued, "Ted’s not here, but he is here in my heart and I know he is here in a lot of our hearts."
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