CNN founder Ted Turner, a media entrepreneur who launched the 24-hour cable news network in 1980, died Wednesday. 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,” Mark Thompson, Chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, 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.”
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CNN made the announcement on X at 10:14 a.m. Wednesday. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social expressing his condolences for Ted Turner.
“Ted Turner, one of the Greats of All Time, just died,” Trump wrote. “He founded CNN, sold it, and was personally devastated by the Deal because the new ownership took CNN, his ‘baby,’ and destroyed it. It became woke, and everything that he is not all about.”
Trump referenced Paramount Skydance’s upcoming acquisition of Warner Brothers, which includes CNN. The agreement now faces regulatory review.
“Maybe the new buyers, wonderful people, will be able to bring it back to its former credibility and glory. Regardless, however, one of the Greats of Broadcast History, and a friend of mine. Whenever I needed him, he was there, always willing to fight for a good cause!”
CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer broke the news live on-air Wednesday, and said that Turner hired him many years ago.
“He was so determined to make sure that the news was strong,” Blitzer said.
Blitzer said he visited Turner for lunch a few months ago, and noted it was sad to see him in poor health.
“It was so painful to see how he had deteriorated,” Blitzer said.
In September 2018, Turner revealed he was battling Lewey body dementia, according to CBS News.
One CNN employee posted the full memo that David Zaslav, CEO and President of Warner Bros. Discovery, sent to staff following Turner’s death.
“In 1980, many questioned the logic of launching CNN, the world’s first 24-hour news network,” Zaslav said. “Ted believed the world deserved access to news as it happened, and he acted on that conviction.”
Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo posted on X: “Wow the end of an era my first TV job was @Ted Turners @cnn which of course is completely different than what it is today #RIP Ted Turner.”
As owner of the Atlanta Braves, Turner took the baseball team to a World Series championship in 1995.
“Ted’s visionary leadership and innovative approach to broadcast television transformed the Braves into ‘America’s Team,’” the Braves said on X. “We will miss you, Ted. You helped make us who we are today.”
Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) said in a statement that Turner helped drive Atlanta and Georgia to new achievements.
“Ted Turner led a life as big as the American dream he lived,” Kemp said.
MEDIA PIONEER TED TURNER DEAD AT 87
Media personality Piers Morgan posted on X and said Turner was an “incredible man who created CNN, won the World Series, and the America’s Cup, was a bison rancher, huge philanthropist, and extraordinarily bold buccaneer. Loved lunching with him, and interviewing him, when I worked at CNN.”
Turner was listed on Forbes’s World’s Billionaire List with an estimated net worth of $2.8 billion. Forbes also identifies Turner as America’s third-largest individual landowner, with roughly 2 million acres.
Washington Examiner multimedia journalist Sydney Topf contributed to this story.
