On Wednesday May 6, 2026, the world lost Ted Turner, the individual responsible for revolutionising news through television, and the way people see how news is being broadcast and ultimately seen worldwide. Turner passed away at his home surrounded by family at the age of 87.
It was Ted Turner who had the original idea behind creating a 24-hour news channel, so that anyone could have access to news stories as they happen, full-time, all over the world. Ultimately, that idea became CNN, which has changed how the world receives news broadcasts on TV.
It was Turner who had the original idea to start an all-news channel designed to offer around-the-clock coverage of current events occurring anywhere in the world at any given time. That idea eventually became known as CNN, which has completely transformed how broadcast news works.
Mark Thompson, the chairman and CEO of CNN, issued a statement that said Ted Turner is a remarkable leader who was constantly engaged with every aspect of CNN as well as unconditionally committed to supporting and providing resources for whatever direction he chose to pursue; he has always been CNN’s presiding spirit. In terms of the impact on our industry, Turner was an iconic figure whose legacy continues to guide many.
In 2018, Ted disclosed that he was suffering from Lewy Body dementia (a type of progressive brain disease) and was hospitalised in early 2025 due to pneumonia, then went through a rehabilitation process after this illness.
How Ted Turner built CNN and changed television forever?
Ted Turner had no broadcasting background. He started his media business when his father died by committing suicide in 1963. Turner, who was 24 years old, took over the billboard advertising business of his father. He purchased a failing Television Station in Atlanta and gradually made it successful through business deals.
David Walker and Lois Hart, a married couple, anchored the first-ever broadcast on CNN, which premiered on June 1, 1980. This was an insane idea when most people watched the big three networks to get their news during a twenty-minute period in the evening, and the idea of having a station that was dedicated to news that would run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, seemed like a risk that no one needed to take. Turner took the gamble anyway though.
The channel nearly instantaneously demonstrated its value by providing rapid, continuous coverage of both the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and the Challenger space shuttle disaster in 1986.
However, the comprehensive live coverage of the Persian Gulf War in 1990 and 1991 illustrated to the entire world what 24-hour news can provide via around-the-clock coverage. In fact, President George H.W. Bush publicly stated at that time that he received more information via CNN than he did through the CIA.
CNN’s success inspired other networks to try to follow their blueprint. In 1996, Ted Turner’s long-time competitor Rupert Murdoch launched Fox News. While Murdoch and Turner had previously been rivals for many years, Turner publicly stated that the two had made peace with each other after many years of fighting.
He married Jane Fonda, an actress, from 1991 until 2001, when they divorced. Throughout the 1990s, their marriage made them one of the most popular and talked-about couples. Ted got the name “The Mouth of the South” due to his frank and straightforward speech and was proud of it for his whole life. In media history, very few individuals possess a lasting legacy that can match his.
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Edited by Subho Mukhopadhyay