Ted Turner

Turner was born on November 19, 1938, in Cincinnati, Ohio,{{cite encyclopedia |title=Ted Turner |encyclopedia=Britannica Money |url=https://www.britannica.com/money/Ted-Turner |access-date=}} the son of Florence (née Rooney) and Robert Edward Turner II, a billboard magnate.{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/19/Ted-Turner.html |title=Ted Turner Biography (1938–) |publisher=Film Reference |access-date=March 24, 2010}} When he was nine, his family moved to Savannah, Georgia, and raised him as an Episcopalian.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IaMPCgAAQBAJ&q=episcopal|isbn=9780313350436|title=Ted Turner: A Biography: A Biography|date=2009|publisher=Abc-Clio}} He attended The McCallie School, a private boys' preparatory school in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Turner attended Brown University and was vice-president of the Brown Debating Union and captain of the sailing team. He became a member of Kappa Sigma. Turner initially majored in classics. His father wrote saying that this choice made him "appalled, even horrified", and that he "almost puked".{{cite web|url=http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/07/this-is-my-son-he-speaks-greek.html|title=This is my son. He speaks Greek|publisher=Lettersofnote|date=July 25, 2012|access-date=July 26, 2012|archive-date=July 27, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120727162316/http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/07/this-is-my-son-he-speaks-greek.html|url-status=dead}} Turner later changed his major to economics, but before receiving a degree, he was expelled for having a female student in his dormitory room.{{cite book| title=Ted Turner: It Ain't As Easy as It Looks: The Amazing Story of CNN| author=Porter Bibb| publisher=Virgin Books| year=1996| isbn=0-86369-892-1| url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/155566203X| pages=26–33}} Turner was awarded an honorary B.A. from Brown University in November 1989 when he returned to campus to give the keynote address for the National Association of College Broadcasters second annual conference.

Expelled from Brown just as tensions in Vietnam were beginning to heat up, Turner joined the United States Coast Guard Reserve in order to fill his service obligation before he ended up getting drafted. Honored by the United States Navy Memorial with its Lone Sailor Award in 2013, Turner told The Washington Post, "I liked boats", and ended up getting "deployed to some pretty sweet places – Charleston and Fort Lauderdale."{{cite news |title=Ted Turner, swaggering billionaire humbled by 'Lone Sailor' prize for long-ago Coast Guard stint |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2013/09/19/ted-turner-billionaire-humbled-by-lone-sailor-prize-for-long-ago-coast-guard-stint/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=19 September 2013}}

After leaving Brown University, Turner returned to the South in late 1960 to become general manager of the Macon, 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 the Young Republicans, saying he "felt at ease among these budding conservatives and was merely following in [his father]'s far-right footsteps", according to It Ain't as Easy as It Looks.

During the Vietnam War era, Turner's business prospered; it had "virtual monopolies in Savannah, Macon, Columbus, and Charleston" and was the "largest outdoor advertising company in the Southeast", according to It 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".{{cite book |last=Bibb |first=Porter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BaWaAAAAIAAJ&q=%22discovered+his+father%22 |title=It Ain't as Easy as it Looks: Ted Turner's Amazing Story |date=1993 |publisher=Crown Publishers |isbn=978-0-517-59322-6 |page=52}}

In the late 1960s Turner began buying several Southern radio stations.{{cite book |last=O'Connor |first=Michael |title=Ted Turner: A Biography |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2009 |chapter=5 |isbn=978-0-313-35043-6}} In 1969, he sold his radio stations to buy a struggling television station in Atlanta, UHF Channel 17 WJRJ (now WPCH).{{cite magazine |title=Merger is proposed by Rice, Turner |periodical=Broadcasting |publisher=Broadcasting Publications, Inc. |date=July 14, 1969}} At the time, UHF stations did well only in markets without VHF stations, like Fresno, 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 the call sign to WTCG, erroneously claimed to have stood for "Watch This Channel Grow" but in actuality stood for Turner Communications Group.{{cite magazine |title=For the Record |periodical=Broadcasting |publisher=Broadcasting Publications, Inc. |date=April 13, 1970}} 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 as Gilligan's Island, I Love Lucy, Star Trek, Hazel, and Bugs Bunny. Other low-cost content included humorist Bill 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, a German 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.{{cite web |url=https://saportareport.com/bill-tushs-30-year-tv-career-began-the-lucky-moment-he-stopped-by-channel-17-for-a-job/archived-columnists/chris-schroder/adminmegan/ |title=Bill Tush's 30-year TV career began the lucky moment he stopped by Channel 17 for a job |date=May 21, 2012 |website=Saporta Report |publisher=saportareport.com |access-date=August 19, 2021}} By 1972, WTCG had acquired the rights to telecast Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks games.{{cite magazine |title=Program Briefs: Hawks roost beside Braves |periodical=Broadcasting |publisher=Broadcasting Publications, Inc. |date=October 16, 1972}} Turner would go on to purchase UHF Channel 36 WRET (now WCNC) in Charlotte, North Carolina, and ran it with a format similar to WTCG.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

File:Ted Turner smoking a cigar.jpg

In 1976, the Federal Communications Commission allowed WTCG to use a satellite to transmit content to local cable TV 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-TV subscribers."Ted Turner." Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed., vol. 15, Gale, 2004, pp. 355–357. 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 {{convert|5000|acre|ha|adj=on}} plantation in Jacksonboro, South Carolina, for $2 million.{{Cite book|last=Endicott|first=Eve|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rFDTnLS_KCwC&q=ted+turner+5000+acre+plantation&pg=PA96|title=Land Conservation Through Public/Private Partnerships|date=1993|publisher=Island Press|isbn=978-1-61091-349-2|language=en}}

In 1976, Turner bought the Atlanta Braves, and in 1977, he bought the Atlanta Hawks, partially to provide programming for WTCG.{{cite news |date=January 7, 1976 |title=Yachtsman Turner Purchases Braves |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/01/07/archives/yachtsman-turner-purchases-braves-yachtsman-buys-braves-for-at.html |work=The New York Times}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nba.com/hawks/news/hawks-raise-banner-honor-turner|title=Hawks Raise Banner To Honor Turner|first=Micah|last=Hart|date=November 30, 2004|work=NBA.com|access-date=September 7, 2020}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/309493-call-me-the-owner-why-the-braves-need-ted-turner-back|title=Call Me Owner: Why the Braves Need Ted Turner Back|first=Jordan|last=Bagbey|website=Bleacher Report|date=December 16, 2009|access-date=September 7, 2020}} At one point, he suggested to pitcher Andy Messersmith, who wore number 17, that he change his surname to "Channel" to promote the television station.{{Cite news| url = http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080320&content_id=2446061&vkey=news_atl&fext=.jsp&c_id=atl|title= Messersmith: The game's first free agent|author=Gary Caruso |work=MLB.com |date =March 20, 2008}}

In 1978, Turner struck a deal with a student-operated radio station at MIT, 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 renamed Turner Broadcasting System and WTCG was renamed WTBS.{{cite web|url=http://archive.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2011/04/08/wmbr_fm_celebrates_50_years_on_the_air/|title=Tune in, turn on...|first=Jonathan|last=Perry|date=April 8, 2011|website=The Boston Globe|access-date=September 7, 2020}}

In 1986, Turner founded the Goodwill 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.Burton, Paul. "Turner, Ted." Notable Sports Figures, edited by Dana R. Barnes, vol. 4, Gale, 2004, pp. 1651–1653.

Turner Field, first used for the 1996 Summer Olympics as Centennial Olympic Stadium and then converted into a baseball-only facility for the Braves, was named after him.{{cite web | title=Centennial Olympic Stadium | access-date=September 11, 2024 | date=January 3, 2024 | url=https://olympics.com/ioc/news/centennial-olympic-stadium | work=olympics.com | quote=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. }}

File:Ted Turner autographing, RIT NandE Vol13Num31 1981 Oct8 Complete.jpg

In 1978, he contacted media executive Reese Schonfeld with his plans to launch a 24-hour news channel (Schonfeld had previously approached Turner with the same proposition in 1977 but was rebuffed).{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yIJ80AkyQdsC&q=kellner&pg=PA1|first=Steve M.|last=Barkin|title=American Television News: The Media Marketplace and the Public Interest: The Media Marketplace and the Public Interest|publisher=Taylor & Francis|date= 2016|isbn=9781315290911}} Schonfeld responded that it could be done with a staff of 300 if they used an all electronic newsroom and satellites for all transmissions. It would require an initial investment of $15 million–$20 million and several million dollars per month to operate.

In 1979, Turner sold his North Carolina station, WRET, to fund the transaction and established its headquarters in lower-cost, non-union Atlanta. Schonfeld was appointed first president and chief executive of the then-named Cable News Network (CNN). CNN hired Jim Kitchell, former general manager of news at NBC 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, and Burt Reinhardt as vice president of the network. In 1982, Schonfeld was succeeded as CEO by Turner after a dispute over Schonfeld's firing of Sandi Freeman; and was succeeded as president by CNN's executive vice president, Burt Reinhardt.{{cite news |first=Lauren|last=Wiseman|title=Burt Reinhardt dies at 91: Newsman helped launch CNN |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/burt-reinhardt-dies-at-91-newsman-helped-launch-cnn/2011/04/14/AFMd9mkG_story.html |newspaper=Washington Post |date=May 10, 2011 |access-date=May 19, 2011}}

{{Main|Turner Doomsday Video}}

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".{{Cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/cnn-s-doomsday-video-leaks-to-the-internet-1798275220|title=CNN's doomsday video leaks to the Internet|website=News|date=January 5, 2015|language=en-us|access-date=February 15, 2020|archive-date=February 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215184548/https://news.avclub.com/cnn-s-doomsday-video-leaks-to-the-internet-1798275220|url-status=live}}

{{Professional wrestling sidebar}}

In 1981, Turner Broadcasting System acquired Brut Productions from Faberge Inc.{{cite news|title=Faberge Sells Brut's Assets|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/01/business/faberge-sells-brut-s-assets.html|website=The New York Times|date=January 1982 |access-date=November 27, 2014}}

After a failed attempt to acquire CBS, Turner purchased the film studio MGM/UA Entertainment Co. from Kirk Kerkorian in 1986 for $1.5 billion.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/08/08/business/turner-acquiring-mgm-movie-empire.html|title=Turner Acquiring MGM Movie Empire |first=Geraldine|last=Fabrikant|work=The New York Times|date=August 8, 1985|access-date=September 7, 2020}} 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 in Culver City was sold to Lorimar/Telepictures. Turner kept MGM's pre-May 1986 and pre-merger film and television library.You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story, (2008) p. 255.{{cite news|work=Orlando Sentinel|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1986/08/27/turner-united-artists-close-deal/|title=Turner, United Artists Close Deal |publisher=United Press International|date=August 27, 1986|access-date=September 7, 2020|archive-date=September 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055612/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1986-08-27/business/0250090069_1_united-artists-turner-mgm|url-status=live}}

Turner Entertainment was established in August 1986 to oversee film and television properties owned by Turner thanks to the deal with Kerkorian.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

Having now acquired MGM's library of 2,200 films made before 1986, Turner had them syndicated on his nationwide television stations. When broadcasting their older films, he aired colorized versions of ones originally shot in black-and-white.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-10-23-ca-6941-story.html|title=Turner Defends Move to Colorize Films |first=John|last=Voland|date=October 23, 1986|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=September 7, 2020}} Opposition arose from cinephiles, actors, and directors to Turner's colorization efforts. Film critic Roger Ebert wrote on Turner's broadcasting of a colorized Casablanca, "that 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."{{cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/casablanca-gets-colorized-but-dont-play-it-again-ted|title='Casablanca' gets colorized, but don't play it again, Ted|first=Roger|last=Ebert|website=RogerEbert.com|date=October 30, 1988|access-date=September 7, 2020}} Thanks in part to Turner's colorization, the Library of Congress established the National Film Registry with the aim to preserve American films in their original format.{{cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/12/national-film-registry-spike-lee-claudia-weill|title=Spike Lee Gets His Fourth Film on the National Film Registry: 'Sometimes Dreams Come True'|first=Donald|last=Liebenson|website=Vanity Fair|date=December 11, 2019|access-date=September 7, 2020}}

In 1988, Turner purchased Jim Crockett Promotions which he renamed World Championship Wrestling (WCW) which became the main competitor to Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation (WWF). This rivalry became known as the Monday Night War, and would last throughout the 1990s. In 2001, under AOL Time Warner, WCW was sold to the WWF.{{cite web|url=https://bleacherreport.com/articles/632761-wcw-how-it-died-and-how-wwe-and-vince-mcmahon-made-sure-it-never-rose-again|title=WCW: How It Died, and How WWE and Vince McMahon Made Sure It Never Rose Again|first=Joe|last=Burgett|website=Bleacher Report|date=March 11, 2011|access-date=September 7, 2020}}

Also in 1988, Turner introduced Turner Network Television (TNT) with Gone with the Wind. TNT, initially showing older movies and television shows, added original programs and newer reruns. Turner would later create Turner Classic Movies (TCM) in 1994, airing Turner's pre-1986 MGM library of films alongside those of Warner Bros. made before 1950, though it has expanded its library since.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

In 1989, Turner created the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship for fiction offering positive solutions to global problems. The winner, from 2500 entries worldwide, was Daniel Quinn's Ishmael.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

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| video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIyViBTPPJ8 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 created Captain Planet, an environmental superhero. Turner produced the television series Captain Planet and the Planeteers and its later sequel series with Captain Planet as the featured character.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/27/world/ted-turner-captain-planet-intl/index.html|title=Is Ted Turner the real Captain Planet?|first1=Mark|last1=Tutton|first2=Holly|last2=Brown|first3=Samantha|last3=Bresnahan|website=CNN|date=November 29, 2019|access-date=September 7, 2020}}

In 1992, the pre-May 1986 MGM library, which also included Warner Bros. properties including the early Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies libraries and also the Fleischer Studios and Famous Studios Popeye cartoons from Paramount (and then United Artists), became the core of Cartoon Network. A year before, Turner's companies purchased Hanna-Barbera Productions (whose longtime parent, Taft/Great American Broadcasting, had been headquartered in Turner's original hometown of Cincinnati), beating out several other bidders including MCA Inc. (whose subsidiaries included Universal Pictures and Universal Destinations & Experiences) and Hallmark 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|date=October 2022}}

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 channel TV-6.{{cite web |author= |date=December 30, 1992 |title=Turner Channel for Moscow |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/30/business/turner-channel-for-moscow.html |access-date=September 7, 2020 |work=The New York Times |agency=Reuters}} The company was later purchased by Russian businessman Boris 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|date=October 2022}}

File:2000 Ted Turner (29902987051).jpg

Turner Broadcasting System merged with Time Warner Entertainment on October 10, 1996, with Turner as vice chairman and head of Time Warner Entertainment and Turner's cable networks division.{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1995/09/23/MN70161.DTL|last=Pelline|first=Jeff|date=September 23, 1995|title=Time Warner Closes Deal for Turner|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle}} Turner was dropped as head of cable networks by CEO Gerald Levin but remained as Vice Chairman of Time Warner Entertainment. He would be succeeded in March 2001 as head of Turner Broadcasting by Jamie Kellner, who was also greatly responsible for cancelling WCW's television contracts on networks which Turner previously ran.{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB983920915516944115|title=WB Network Chief Kellner Takes Over Turner Operations at AOL Time Warner|first1=Joe|last1=Flint|first2=Sally|last2=Beatty|publisher=Wall Street Journalism|date=March 7, 2001|accessdate=June 22, 2024}}{{Cite news |last=Schneider |first=Michael |date=2024-06-22 |title=Jamie Kellner, TV Maverick Who Launched Both Fox and The WB, Dies at 77 |url=https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/jamie-kellner-dies-dead-fox-the-wb-obituary-1236044943/ |access-date=2024-06-22 |work=Variety |language=en-US}}{{cite news|url=https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/former-head-turner-broadcasting-jamie-kellner-passes-away|title=Former Head of Turner Broadcasting Jamie Kellner Passes Away|first=Jeremy|last=Lambert|publisher=Fightful|date=June 22, 2024|accessdate=June 22, 2024}} He resigned as AOL Time Warner vice chairman in 2003 and then from the Time Warner board of directors in 2006.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-jan-30-fi-turner30-story.html|title=Ted Turner to Resign AOL Post|first=Sallie|last=Hofmeister|work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 30, 2003|access-date=September 7, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/25/business/ted-turner-leaving-time-warners-board.html|title=Ted Turner Leaving Time Warner's Board|author=Associated Press|work=The New York Times|date=February 25, 2006|access-date=September 7, 2020}}

On January 11, 2001, Time Warner Entertainment was purchased by America Online (AOL) to become AOL Time Warner,{{cite web |url=http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-250781.html |title=AOL, Time Warner complete merger with FCC blessing |work=CNET |first1=Patrick |last1=Ross |first2=Evan |last2=Hansen |date=January 11, 2001 |access-date=June 2, 2012}} a merger which Turner initially supported.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2001/04/23/the-lost-tycoon |title=The Lost Tycoon |first=Ken |last=Auletta |magazine=The New Yorker |date=April 23, 2001 |access-date=June 24, 2018}} However, the burst of the dot-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 CEO Gerald Levin eventually led to Levin's announced resignation effective in early 2002, being replaced by Richard Parsons.{{cite web |url=http://www.ninamunk.com/PowerFailure.php |title=Power Failure |first=Nina |last=Munk |work=Vanity Fair |date=July 2002 |access-date=June 26, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714183334/http://www.ninamunk.com/documents/PowerFailure.htm |archive-date=July 14, 2011 }} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/16/business/at-63-ted-turner-may-yet-roar-again.html|title=At 63, Ted Turner May Yet Roar Again|first1=Jim|last1=Rutenberg|first2=Alessandra|last2=Stanley|work=The New York Times|date=December 16, 2001|access-date=September 7, 2020}} 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|date=October 2022}}

Turner was Time Warner's biggest individual shareholder. It is estimated he lost as much as $7 billion when the stock collapsed in the wake of the merger.{{cite web |url=http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/mixed-media/2008/11/11/ted-turner-goes-to-town-on-time-warner |title=Ted Turner Goes to Town on Time Warner |first=Jeff |last=Bercovici |work=Conde Nast Portfolio |date=November 11, 2008 |access-date=June 23, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081113003314/http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/mixed-media/2008/11/11/ted-turner-goes-to-town-on-time-warner |archive-date=November 13, 2008}} When asked about buying back his former assets, he replied that he "can't afford them now".{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/24/AR2006022401888.html |title=Turner To Leave Time Warner |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 25, 2006 |access-date=March 24, 2010 |first=Steven |last=Levingston}} In June 2014, Rupert Murdoch's 21st 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.{{cite magazine |last=Frizell |first=Sam |date=August 5, 2014 |title=21st Century Fox Withdraws Time Warner Takeover Bid |url=https://time.com/3083321/21st-century-fox-time-warner/ |access-date=February 25, 2024 |magazine=Time}}

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 the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, causing it to run aground {{convert|6.2|mi|km}} from the finish line. At the post-race dinner, a drunken Turner verbally assaulted Murdoch, afterward challenging him to a televised fistfight in Las Vegas.{{cite web |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2009/12/murdochs_rivalries.html |title=Rupert Murdoch and the Art of War |author=Daily Intelligencer |work=New York |date=December 23, 2009 |access-date=September 7, 2020}}

Murdoch's Fox 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."{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/05/nyregion/cable-news-feud-has-personal-and-political-roots.html |title=Cable News Feud Has Personal and Political Roots |first=Mark |last=Landler |work=The New York Times |date=October 5, 1996 |access-date=September 7, 2020}}

In 2003, Turner challenged Murdoch to another fistfight, and later on accused Murdoch of being a "warmonger" for his support and backing of President George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq.{{cite news |title=Turner: Murdoch is a 'warmonger' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/apr/25/newscorporation.pressandpublishing |work=The Guardian |date=April 23, 2003 |access-date=March 12, 2011 |location=London}}{{cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/09/ted-turner-wants-rupert-murdoch-step-down/337730/|title=Ted Turner Still Happy to Spar with Rupert Murdoch |first=Adam Clark |last=Estes |work=The Atlantic |date=September 20, 2011 |access-date=September 7, 2020}}

However, revealing in an interview with Variety in 2019, Turner said he and Murdoch have since made amends.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/tv/features/ted-turner-interview-cnn-mgm-1203183345/|title=Ted Turner: The Maverick Mogul Reflects on His Legacy, Big Deals and Old Feuds|first=Cynthia|last=Littleton|work=Variety|date=April 9, 2019|access-date=September 7, 2020}}

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Ted Turner

|image=

|team=Atlanta Braves

|number=27

|position=Manager

|birth_date={{birth date and age|1938|11|19}}

|birth_place= Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.

|bats=

|throws=

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=May 11

|debutyear=1977

|debutteam=Atlanta Braves

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=May 11

|finalyear=1977

|finalteam=Atlanta Braves

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Games

|stat1value=1

|stat2label=Win–loss record

|stat2value=0–1

|stat3label=Winning %

|stat3value=.000

|teams=

• Atlanta Braves ({{mlby|1977}})

| awards =

}}

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|date=October 2022}}

Turner was suspended for one year by Commissioner of Baseball Bowie Kuhn on January 3, 1977, for his actions while pursuing the signing of free agent outfielder Gary Matthews from the San 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 owner Bob Lurie during the 1976 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.{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/01/03/archives/kuhn-suspends-turner-braves-owner-for-year-in-matthews-case-turner.html |last=Chass |first=Murray |title=Kuhn Suspends Turner, Braves' Owner, for Year in Matthews Case |work=The New York Times |date=January 3, 1977}} Turner, however, successfully appealed the suspension and Kuhn relented and reinstated the draft selections, one of which would turn out to be Bob Horner from Arizona State University.{{cite web |url=http://www.80sbaseball.com/tag/gary-matthews/ |title=Horner vs. Turner |website=80sbaseball.com |access-date=September 1, 2021 }}

On May 11, 1977, with the team mired in a 16-game losing streak, Turner sent manager Dave Bristol on a 10-day "scouting trip" and Turner himself took over as interim manager – the first owner/manager in the majors since Connie Mack. He ran the team for one game (a loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates){{cite web|title=Ted Turner Managerial Record|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/turnete99.shtml|website=Baseball Reference|access-date=May 17, 2019}} before National League president Chub 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 to Commissioner of Baseball Bowie 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."{{cite magazine |last=Hannon |first=Kent |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1092438/index.htm |title=Benched from the Bench |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615165546/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1092438/index.htm |archive-date=June 15, 2013 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=May 23, 1977}}

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 the 1995 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.{{cite web|title=Braves sale is approved|url=http://m.mlb.com/news/article/1968024/|website=Major League Baseball|access-date=June 12, 2017|archive-date=August 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818173225/http://m.mlb.com/news/article/1968024//|url-status=dead}}

File:1995 World Series trophy.JPG given to the Atlanta Braves – owned at the time by Turner – for winning the 1995 World Series (shown on display at Turner Field – named for Turner – the Braves' home ballpark)]]

Emmy Awards

• Lifetime Achievement – Sports (2014)
• Lifetime Achievement – News & Documentary (2015)

Sports

• 1995: World Series champion (as owner of the Atlanta Braves)
• 1996: Atlanta Braves home ballpark (1996–2016) named Turner Field
• 2004: Commemorative banner at State Farm Arena honoring his tenure as owner of the Atlanta Hawks{{Cite web|url=http://stadiumjourney.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Retired-Numbers.jpg|title=Atlanta Hawks retired numbers|website=Stadiumjourney.com|access-date=October 21, 2021|archive-date=October 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211016120953/http://stadiumjourney.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Retired-Numbers.jpg|url-status=dead}}

Media

• 1984: Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=Achievement.org|publisher=American Academy of Achievement|url= https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#business}}
• 1989: Paul White Award, Radio Television Digital News Association{{cite web |url=http://www.rtdna.org/content/paul_white_award#.U4FBHS8-Ngc |title=Paul White Award |publisher=Radio Television Digital News Association |access-date=May 27, 2014 |archive-date=February 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225052416/http://rtdna.org/content/paul_white_award#.U4FBHS8-Ngc |url-status=dead}}
• 1990: Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism.{{cite web|last1=Arizona State University|title=Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication|url=https://cronkite.asu.edu/about/walter-cronkite-and-asu/walter-cronkite-award|access-date=November 23, 2016|archive-date=March 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190320212556/https://cronkite.asu.edu/about/walter-cronkite-and-asu/walter-cronkite-award|url-status=dead}}
• 1991: Time magazine's Man of the Year.
• 1997: Peabody Award winner
• 1999: Edison Achievement Award for his commitment to innovation throughout his career
• 2000: Edward R. Murrow Award for Lifetime Achievement in Communication{{cite web |url=https://murrow.wsu.edu/symposium/the-edward-r-murrow-achievement-award/ |title=The Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award {{!}} Murrow Symposium Site {{!}} Washington State University |language=en-US |access-date=May 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503214620/https://murrow.wsu.edu/symposium/the-edward-r-murrow-achievement-award/ |archive-date=May 3, 2019 |url-status=dead}}

Halls of Fame

• 1991: Television Hall of Fame inductee
• 2004: Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Organizational

• 1991: Audubon medal from the National Audubon Society{{cite web |url=http://www.audubon.org/audubon-medal-0 |title=Previous Audubon Medal Awardees |work=Audubon |date=January 9, 2015}}
• 2001: Albert Schweitzer Gold Medal for Humanitarianism
• 2010: Georgia Trustee, an honor given by the Georgia Historical Society, in conjunction with the Governor of Georgia{{cite web |url=https://georgiahistory.com/about-ghs/the-georgia-trustees/ |title=The Georgia Trustees: Previous Inductees |work=Georgia Historical Society |date=March 24, 2014 }}
• 2013: Lone Sailor Award, which recognizes Navy, Marine and Coast Guard veterans who have distinguished themselves in their civilian careers (Turner is a Coast Guard veteran).{{cite web|title=Lone Sailor Award Recipients|url=http://www.navymemorial.org/lone-sailor-award-recipients|publisher=navymemorial.org|access-date=July 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016214216/http://www.navymemorial.org/lone-sailor-award-recipients|archive-date=October 16, 2015|url-status=dead}}

File:The Chairman, UN Foundation, Mr. Ted Turner calling on the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, in New Delhi on December 16, 2005 (1).jpg, in New Delhi, 2005]]

File:Secretary Kerry Greets Environmental Activist Ted Turner Before Addressing a UN Foundation-Hosted Breakfast Meeting Focused on the Ocean in Paris (22977278124).jpg in December 2015]]

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{{nsmdns}}they've got 100 of them approximately{{nsmdns}}or India or Pakistan or Russia."{{cite news|url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local/ted-turner-adopt-china-one-child-policy-save-planet/y7rKRuXh7LrLUc5aMrA95N/|title=Ted Turner: Adopt China's one-child policy to save planet|last=Boone|first=Christian|date=December 8, 2010|work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|access-date=March 11, 2019}}

A proponent of healthcare reform bills, Turner has said: "We’re the only first-world country that doesn't have universal healthcare and it's a disgrace.""[http://www.creativeleadershipsummit.org/?q=node/788/ Working Lunch 1: In Conversation with Ted Turner] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202025536/http://www.creativeleadershipsummit.org/?q=node%2F788%2F |date=February 2, 2016 }}." Global Creative Leadership Summit, September 2009.

In 2010, during the wake of both the devastating Deepwater Horizon environmental disaster and the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster that killed 29 miners in West 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 ...""Stupid Quotes." In The Limbaugh Letter. July 2010. p. 11.

Turner endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the run-up for the 2016 U.S. presidential election.{{cite news|url=http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/33358570/ted-turner-endorses-hillary-clinton-for-president|title=Ted Turner endorses Hillary Clinton for President|publisher=Fox Carolina|date=October 10, 2016|access-date=January 18, 2019|archive-date=December 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171209091526/http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/33358570/ted-turner-endorses-hillary-clinton-for-president|url-status=dead}} In 2018 he revealed he had once considered a run for president when he was married to Jane Fonda, who told him she would leave him if he did.{{cite web|url=https://apnews.com/f7b33517be064bb3aa50b47305a93e79/CNN-founder-Turner-says-network-is-too-heavy-on-politics|title=CNN founder Turner says network is too heavy on politics|author=Associated Press|publisher=AP News|date=September 28, 2018|access-date=September 7, 2020}}

Along with advocating for clean water and improved stewardship of the land, Turner established the Turner Foundation to address ways to curb population growth.{{cite web |url=https://www.tedturner.com/foundations/turner-foundation/#:~:text=The%20Turner%20Foundation%20(TFI)%2C,to%20curb%20population%20growth%20rates |title=Turner Foundation |publisher=Turner Enterprises Inc. |access-date=September 1, 2021 }} 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.{{cite web |url=https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/ted-turner-talks-of-overpopulation/article_1043f1be-541e-52eb-8b99-3dadccf02628.html#:~:text=Turner%20said%20he%20also%20put,to%20two%20billion%20or%20less |title=Ted Turner talks of overpopulation |work=Bozeman Daily Chronicle |date=September 18, 1996 |access-date=September 1, 2021 }}

In 2009 Turner met with other business moguls to include Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, George Soros and David 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 for The Guardian.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/may/31/new-york-billionaire-philanthropists |title=They're called the Good Club – and they want to save the world |work=The Guardian |last=Harris |first=Paul |date=May 31, 2009 |access-date=September 1, 2021 }}

File:Ted Turner with ex-wife Jane Fonda 1992.jpg in 1992]]

Turner once called observers of Ash Wednesday "Jesus freaks", though he apologized,{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/19/business/mediatalk-aol-sees-a-different-side-of-time-warner.html |work=The New York Times|title=MediaTalk; AOL Sees a Different Side of Time Warner |author=Jim Rutenberg|date=March 19, 2001}} and dubbed opponents of abortion "bozos".

In 1999, Turner made a joke about Polish mine detectors when asked about Pope John Paul II. After a harsh response from the Polish deputy foreign minister Radek Sikorski, Turner apologized.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/282851.stm|title=BBC News – Europe – Heard the one about Ted Turner ...|work=bbc.co.uk|access-date=April 12, 2016}}

In 2002, Turner accused Israel of terror: "The Palestinians are fighting with human suicide 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 the 9/11 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."{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/jun/18/terrorismandthemedia.israel| title=CNN chief accuses Israel of terror| date=June 18, 2002| first1=Oliver |last1=Burkeman |first2=Peter |last2=Beaumont |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=August 31, 2016}}

Also in 2008, Turner asserted on PBS's Charlie Rose that if steps are not taken to address global warming, most people would die and "the rest of us will be cannibals". Turner also said in the interview that he advocated Americans having no more than two children. In 2010, he stated that China's one-child policy should be implemented.{{cite news| url=https://www.ajc.com/news/local/ted-turner-adopt-china-one-child-policy-save-planet/y7rKRuXh7LrLUc5aMrA95N/| title=Ted Turner: Adopt China's one-child policy to save planet| date=December 8, 2010| first=Christian |last=Boone| work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |access-date=September 26, 2014}}

File:Luckie St. Solar Panels.jpg

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,{{Cite web|url=https://www.tedturner.com/about/|title=About – Turner Enterprises|website=Tedturner.com|access-date=2020-01-28}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tedturner.com/turner-ranches/turner-ranches-faq/|title=Turner Ranches FAQ – Turner Enterprises|website=Tedturner.com|access-date=2020-01-28}} He owned 19 ranches – 16 in the western U.S. and three in Argentina. In January 2016, the Osage Nation bought Turner's 43,000 acre (170 km²) Bluestem Ranch in Osage County, Oklahoma. Turner had purchased the property in 2001 primarily to raise bison.{{citation needed|date=October 2022}}

Through Turner Enterprises, he owns ranches in Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.{{cite web|author=Tribune staff|year=2009|title=125 Montana Newsmakers: Ted Turner|url=http://www.greatfallstribune.com/multimedia/125newsmakers5/turner.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711123901/http://www.greatfallstribune.com/multimedia/125newsmakers5/turner.html|archive-date=July 11, 2011|access-date=August 28, 2011|work=Great Falls Tribune}}{{cite web|title=Ranches|url=http://www.tedturner.com/enterprises/ranches_Template.asp?page=ranches_faq.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430103340/http://www.tedturner.com/enterprises/ranches_Template.asp?page=ranches_faq.html|archive-date=April 30, 2009|access-date=March 29, 2009|publisher=Ted Turner}} Totaling {{convert|1910585|acre|km2}}, his land-holdings across America make Turner one of the largest individual landowners in North America (by acreage).

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. 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." Other important wildlife species on the property include whitetail deer, wild turkey and bobwhite quail.{{cite news|last=Morgan|first=Rhett|date=February 3, 2016|title=Osage Nation set to buy Ted Turner-owned Bluestem Ranch in Osage County|website=Tulsa World|url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/state/osage-nation-set-to-buy-ted-turner-owned-bluestem-ranch/article_6be16608-a1e3-502e-a9c7-c77218db023e.html|access-date=April 7, 2017}} 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. His biggest ranch is Vermejo Park Ranch in New Mexico. At {{convert|920|sqmi|km2}}, it is the largest privately owned, contiguous tract of land in the United States.{{cite web|date=April 14, 2006|title=State, Vermejo Park Ranch Enter Into Agreement Regarding Abandoned Mine Reclamation|url=http://www.allbusiness.com/government/3639644-1.html|publisher=allbusiness}} {{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

TEI works closely with Turner's philanthropic and charitable interests, including the founding and ongoing operations of the United Nations Foundation, Nuclear Threat Initiative, Turner Foundation,{{Cite web|url=http://www.turnerfoundation.org/|title=Turner Foundation|website=Turnerfoundation.org|access-date=October 21, 2021|archive-date=August 17, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200817180322/http://www.turnerfoundation.org/|url-status=dead}} Captain Planet Foundation,{{Cite web|url=https://captainplanetfoundation.org/|title=Captain Planet Foundation – Engaging & empowering young people to be problem solvers for the planet|website=Captainplanetfoundation.org|access-date=October 21, 2021}} and the Turner Endangered Species Fund. Turner Enterprises is headquartered in the Turner Building (formerly the Bona Allen Office Building) in Atlanta, Georgia, also home to the Ted's Montana Grill restaurant chain, Ted Turner Reserves{{Cite web|url=https://tedturnerreserves.com/|title=Ted Turner Reserves – Luxury Eco-Tourism|website=Tedturnerreserves.com|access-date=October 21, 2021}} and Turner Renewable Energy.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tedturner.com/turner-renewable-energy/|title=Turner Renewable Energy – Turner Enterprises|website=Tedturner.com|access-date=October 21, 2021}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.tedturner.com/about/bona-allen-building/|title=Turner Building – Turner Enterprises|website=Tedturner.com|access-date=January 28, 2020}} 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{{Cite web|url=https://www.tedturner.com/turner-renewable-energy/|title=Turner Renewable Energy – Turner Enterprises|website=Tedturner.com|access-date=January 28, 2020}}

Chaired by Turner, TEI's executive leadership also includes CEO & President S. Taylor Glover.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tedturner.com/about/company-officers/|title=Executive Leadership – Turner Enterprises|website=Tedturner.com|access-date=January 28, 2020}}

File:Ted Turner and Jane Fonda.jpg, in Washington, D.C., 2002]]

Turner has been married and divorced three times: to Judy Nye (1960–1964), Jane Shirley Smith (1965–1988), and actress Jane Fonda (1991–2001). He has five children.{{cite web|url=http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2008/04/01/1/a-conversation-with-ted-turner|title=A Conversation With Ted Turner|date=April 1, 2008 |access-date=April 6, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080405183340/http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2008/04/01/1/a-conversation-with-ted-turner|archive-date=April 5, 2008}} In a television interview with Piers Morgan on May 3, 2012, Turner said he had four girlfriends, which he acknowledged was complicated but nonetheless easier than being married.{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_bn1#/video/us/2012/05/04/piers-turner-four-girlfriends.cnn | work=CNN | title=CNN.com Video |date=May 4, 2012 |access-date=October 31, 2008}} One of Turner's children, Robert Edward "Teddy" Turner IV, announced on January 23, 2013, that he intended to run in the South Carolina Republican primary for the open Congressional seat vacated by Tim Scott who was appointed to the US Senate.Smith, Bruce. [http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ted-turners-son-vying-sc-congressional-primary Ted Turner's son vying in SC congressional primary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203015631/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ted-turners-son-vying-sc-congressional-primary |date=December 3, 2013 }}, Associated Press, January 23, 2013. Turner's son came in 4th, receiving 7.90% of the vote.{{cite web |url=http://www.enr-scvotes.org/SC/45550/115634/en/summary.html |title=SC District 01 – Special R Primary |publisher=SC Elections |access-date=October 26, 2017}}

In 2010, Turner joined Warren Buffett's and Bill Gates's The Giving Pledge, vowing to donate the majority of his fortune to charity upon his death.{{cite web|title=Ted Turner's Giving Pledge |url=http://cms.givingpledge.org/Content/uploads/634159149577957850_Turner_063010.pdf |date=June 30, 2010 |publisher=The Giving Pledge |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523023437/http://cms.givingpledge.org/Content/uploads/634159149577957850_Turner_063010.pdf |archive-date=May 23, 2012 }}

In the 1993 biography It Ain't As Easy as It Looks by Porter Bibb, Turner discussed his use of lithium and struggles with mental illness. The 1981 biography Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way by Christian Williams chronicles the founding of CNN.{{cite magazine|title=The Sure Thing: How entrepreneurs really succeed|url= http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/01/18/the-sure-thing |magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=May 10, 2016}} In 2008, Turner wrote Call Me Ted, which documents his career and personal life.{{cite news |first=Phil |last=Kloer |title="Call Me Ted" – what else do you call him? |work=Atlanta Journal-Constitution |date=10 November 2008 |access-date=12 November 2008 |url=http://www.accessatlanta.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/accessatlanta/atlarts/entries/2008/11/10/ted_turners_autobiography_hits.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100101064946/http://www.accessatlanta.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/accessatlanta/atlarts/entries/2008/11/10/ted_turners_autobiography_hits.html |archive-date=2010-01-01 |url-status=dead }}

In an interview on CBS Sunday Morning in 2018, Turner revealed his diagnosis of Lewy body dementia.{{cite news |title=Ted Turner reveals he's battling Lewy body dementia in exclusive interview |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ted-turner-reveals-hes-battling-lewy-body-dementia-in-exclusive-interview/ |access-date=September 29, 2018 |work=CBS News |date=September 28, 2018}}

{{Infobox sailor

| name = Ted Turner

| classes =

| club = {{yachtclub|Savannah Yacht Club}}

| collegeteam = {{collegesailingteam|Brown University}}

| coach =

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalSport | Sailing }}

{{MedalCountry | {{USA}} }}

{{Medal|Competition|World Championships}}

{{Medal|Gold|1971 Seawanhaka|5.5m}}

{{Medal|Silver|1970 Sydney|5.5m}}

{{Medal|Silver|1972 Geneva|5.5m}}

{{Medal|Silver|1976 Hankø|5.5m}}

}}

When Turner was 26, he entered sailing competitions at the Savannah Yacht Club and competed in Olympic trials in 1964.{{cite book |last= Haupert|first=Michael John |title=The Entertainment Industry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p3tI2cAxj3gC&q=ted+turner+Olympic+trials+in+1964&pg=PA253 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=253 |isbn=978-1-59884-594-5 |access-date=June 3, 2014 |year=2006 }} He first attempted to win the America's Cup in 1974, losing in the defender's trials, aboard 12 Metre class yacht US–25 Mariner.{{cite episode |network= NBC |work= NBC Sports Network |series= 2017 America's Cup |title= Courageous |airdate= June 17, 2017 }} Turner was defeated by Ted Hood aboard US–26 Courageous.

Turner was asked to join the 1977 America's Cup defense syndicate formed by Hood and Lee Loomis for the New York Yacht Club. That group still owned the Courageous but decided to design and construct a new 12 Metre - US–28 Independence - to defend the 1974 America's Cup victory. However, in the trials, with Turner as skipper aboard the 3-year-old Courageous proved to be the faster than Hood and Independence {{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/06/19/archives/us-yachts-begin-americas-cup-trials.html |title=U.S. Yachts Begin America's Cup Trials |last=Wallace |first=William |work=The New York Times |date=June 19, 1977 |access-date=October 1, 2017}} and was selected to race in the 1977 races.

From 13 to 18 September 1977 Courageous, with Turner in command, defeated the challenger Australia, skippered by Noel Robins, in a four-race sweep.{{cite web|url=http://32nd.americascup.com/en/acclopaedia/circlinggalaxy/profil.php?idContent=4528&idRubr=73 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707101033/http://32nd.americascup.com/en/acclopaedia/circlinggalaxy/profil.php?idContent=4528&idRubr=73 |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 July 2012 |title=Noel Robins |publisher=ACCyclopedia |accessdate=30 January 2012 }} Courageous' greatest winning margin out of all four races was 2 minutes and 23 seconds.{{cite web|url=http://32nd.americascup.com/en/acclopaedia/circlinggalaxy/bateau.php?idContent=4891|title=Courageous – US 26|publisher=americascup.com|access-date=April 27, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100222021838/http://32nd.americascup.com/en/acclopaedia/circlinggalaxy/bateau.php?idContent=4891&idRubr=74|archive-date=February 22, 2010}}

In the 1979 Fastnet Race, in a storm that killed 15 participants, he skippered the S&S-designed{{cite magazine |url=https://www.sailingworld.com/racing/ted-turner/ |title=Ted Turner, Captain Outrageous |date=April 24, 2002 |magazine=Sailing World}} 61-footer Tenacious to a corrected-time victory.{{cite book|last=Rousmainiere|first=John|title=Fastnet, Force 10|year=1980|publisher=Norton|location=New York|isbn=0-393-03256-6|url=https://archive.org/details/fastnetforce1000rous}}

Turner appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated on July 4, 1977,{{cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/8544/index.htm |title=Ted Turner on Sports Illustrated cover |date=July 4, 1977 |access-date=April 27, 2011 |work=CNN |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515120708/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/8544/index.htm |archive-date=May 15, 2011 }} after winning 1977 America's Cup.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/09.18.html|title=A Brash Captain Keeps the Cup|date=September 18, 1977|newspaper=The New York Times}}

Turner was inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame in 1993,{{cite web |url=http://www.herreshoff.org/achof/ted_turner.html |title=Herreshoff Marine Museum & America's Cup Hall of Fame |publisher=Herreshoff.org |access-date=October 10, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120416032023/http://www.herreshoff.org/achof/ted_turner.html |archive-date=April 16, 2012 |url-status=dead }} and the National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2011.{{cite web |url=http://www.nshof.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=322:turner-ted-2011-inductee&catid=78 |title=Turner, Ted – 2011 Inductee |publisher=Nshof.org |access-date=October 10, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131210004343/http://www.nshof.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=322:turner-ted-2011-inductee&catid=78 |archive-date=December 10, 2013 |url-status=dead }}

File:Ted Turner.jpg

File:LBJ Foundation DIG13755-4096 (18716136865).jpg]]

Turner has been regarded as one of the entrepreneurs who transformed the cable industry and being referred to as "the Alexander the Great of broadcasting" by Slate magazine:{{cite journal |url=https://slate.com/technology/2010/11/ted-turner-the-alexander-the-great-of-television.html|title=Ted Turner, the Alexander the Great of Television|journal=Slate |date=November 10, 2010|access-date=February 21, 2021 |last1=Wu |first1=Tim }}

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

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, including ESPN, MTV, Bravo, Showtime, BET, the Discovery Channel, and the Weather 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

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".{{cite web |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/news/2019/03/06/viewpoint-lets-never-forget-the-legacy-of-ted.html|title=Viewpoint: Let's never forget the legacy of Ted Turner|date=March 6, 2019|access-date=February 21, 2021}} 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 the UN Foundation, and his approach to news on the original CNN were passions for peace".

Professional wrestling promoter and former Senior Vice President of WCW 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.”{{cite web |url=https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2020/09/eric-bischoff-recalls-vince-mcmahon-letters-trying-to-674695/ |title=Eric Bischoff Recalls Vince McMahon's Letters 'Trying to Embarrass' Ted Turner|date=September 12, 2020|access-date=February 25, 2021}}

On June 24, 1999, Vince McMahon stated on Late 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".{{cite web |url=https://nypost.com/1999/06/28/mats-entertainment-wrestling-foes-mcmahon-hogan-square-off-in-talk-show-tussle/ |title=MATS ENTERTAINMENT! WRESTLING FOES MCMAHON, HOGAN SQUARE OFF IN TALK-SHOW TUSSLE |date=June 28, 1999|access-date=August 26, 2021}} Later in 2021, when asked about the upstart AEW 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".{{Cite web |last=Thakur |first=Sanjay |date=2021-07-30 |title=Vince McMahon Says He Does Not See AEW As The Same Level Of Competition As WCW |url=https://prowrestlingnewshub.com/aew-news/vince-mcmahon-says-he-does-not-see-aew-as-the-same-level-of-competition-as-wcw/ |access-date=2024-11-28 |website=Pro Wrestling News Hub}}

In 2010 Turner was named a Georgia Trustee, an honor given by the Georgia 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 the Georgia colony from 1732 to 1752.

{{Reflist}}

• Call Me Ted by Ted Turner and Bill Burke (Grand Central Publishing, 2008) {{ISBN|978-0-446-58189-9}}
• Racing Edge by Ted Turner (Simon & Schuster, 1979) {{ISBN|0-671-24419-1}}

{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?183551-1/media-man-ted-turners-improbable-empire Presentation by Auletta on Media Man, November 4, 2004], C-SPAN}}

• Media Man: Ted Turner's Improbable Empire by Ken Auletta (W. W. Norton, 2004) {{ISBN|0-393-05168-4}}
• Clash of the Titans: How the Unbridled Ambition of Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch Has Created Global Empires that Control What We Read and Watch Each Day by Richard Hack (New Millennium Press, 2003) {{ISBN|1-893224-60-0}}
• Me and Ted Against the World: The Unauthorized Story of the Founding of CNN by Reese Schonfeld (HarperBusiness, 2001) 0060197463
• Ted Turner Speaks: Insights from the World's Greatest Maverick by Janet Lowe (Wiley, 1999) {{ISBN|0-471-34563-6}}
• Riding A White Horse: Ted Turner's Goodwill Games and Other Crusades by Althea Carlson (Episcopal Press, 1998) {{ISBN|0-9663743-0-4}}
• {{cite book| title=Ted Turner: It Ain't As Easy as It Looks: The Amazing Story of CNN| author=Porter Bibb| publisher=Virgin Books| year=1996| isbn=0-86369-892-1| url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/155566203X/ref=sib_dp_pt/002-4443697-6472033#reader-link}}
• Citizen Turner: The Wild Rise of an American Tycoon by Robert Goldberg and Gerald Jay Goldberg (Harcourt, 1995) {{ISBN|0-15-118008-3}}
• CNN: The Inside Story: How a Band of Mavericks Changed the Face of Television News by Hank Whittemore (Little Brown & Co, 1990) {{ISBN|0-316-93761-4}}
• Lead Follow or Get Out of the Way: The Story of Ted Turner by Christian Williams (Times Books, 1981) {{ISBN|0-8129-1004-4}}
• Atlanta Rising: The Invention of an International City 1946–1996 by Frederick Allen (Longstreet Press, 1996) {{ISBN|1-56352-296-9}}

{{sister project links|auto=1}}

• {{Official website}}
• [https://achievement.org/achiever/ted-turner/#interview Robert Edward “Ted” Turner Biography and Interview on American Academy of Achievement]
• {{New York Times topic}}
• {{C-SPAN}}
• {{IMDb name}}
• {{The Interviews name}}
• [http://www.oprah.com/own-master-class/Oprahs-Master-Class-Ted-Turner Turner on Oprah Master Class, aired January 29, 2012] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901110137/http://www.oprah.com/own-master-class/Oprahs-Master-Class-Ted-Turner |date=September 1, 2013 }}
• {{Baseball-reference manager|turnete99}}
• {{World Sailing|id=USART56|www=robert-turner-iii|name=Robert Turner III}}
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