Ted Turner, the flamboyant US entrepreneur who remodeled tv information with the creation of NCS in 1980 earlier than venturing into philanthropy, has died at the age of 87.
The mustached southerner, champion yachtsman and conservationist, whose empire additionally included sports activities golf equipment, had been affected by the degenerative illness Lewy Body Dementia.
Cable News Network upended established broadcasting with its dedication to around-the-clock breaking information and shot to world recognition with its protection of the Gulf War in 1990-91.
The 24-hour community was the primary within the United States to run continuous information and shortly constructed a worldwide footprint.
“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,” Mark Thompson, chairman and CEO of NCS Worldwide, mentioned Wednesday.
Rupert Murdoch, the proprietor of competitor Fox News who clashed with Turner within the Nineties earlier than the pair reconciled, mentioned his former enterprise rival “transformed the media industry.”
“His impact as a trailblazer has left an indelible mark on our cultural landscape,” Murdoch mentioned in a press release.
Among the media world’s most influential figures, Turner earned the title of Time journal’s man of the yr in 1991. He married 3 times, together with to actress Jane Fonda, and had 5 kids.
In a press release, Turner’s household remembered his “no-holds-barred delivery, endearing sense of humor, and undying loyalty to those around him.”
“He charmed people he met with his warmth and general lack of conceit, despite his many successes and celebrity––an attribute made apparent in his response to anyone who addressed him as ‘Mr Turner’––he’d always reply, ‘Call me Ted!'”
Television empire
President Donald Trump, who often manufacturers NCS as “fake news” as a part of his wider assaults on US media, praised Turner as “one of the Greats of All Time.”
“Whenever I needed him, he was there, always willing to fight for a good cause!” Trump mentioned in a social media publish.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio in November 1938, Robert Edward “Ted” Turner III went to a navy boarding faculty in Tennessee after which attended Brown University, however was expelled earlier than graduating.
He took over a faltering household promoting enterprise after his father, despondent over monetary issues, died by suicide.
After shopping for a lot of radio stations, Turner’s buy of a struggling Atlanta station in 1970 was his first transfer into tv.
Ten years later, that grew to become the flagship of his nationwide Turner Broadcasting System, the earnings from which he parlayed into the launch of NCS.
NCS’s success impressed the creation of different 24-hour information channels together with Fox News, MSNBC and numerous networks worldwide.
Turner’s tv empire additionally included TBS and TNT channels for sports activities and leisure, Turner Classic Movies and Cartoon Network, amongst others.
Sport and philanthropy
Alongside his enterprise success, Turner was a distinguished determine within the sports activities world.
He purchased the Atlanta Braves baseball crew in 1976 and the crew made a number of World Series appearances, profitable in 1995. The crew performed on Turner Field till 2016.
Turner additionally owned the Atlanta Hawks NBA crew and the Atlanta Thrashers NHL crew. He offered his curiosity in all three groups in 1996.
In different sports activities endeavors, Turner efficiently skippered the US yacht Courageous to win the 1977 America’s Cup.
His later years have been devoted to philanthropy and the atmosphere.
In 1998, Turner donated a billion {dollars} to the United Nations to create the UN Foundation, which has centered on local weather change, sustainable growth, know-how and well being initiatives.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres referred to as Turner “a visionary whose conviction, generosity and audacious spirit left a lasting imprint on the United Nations and our world.” (AFP)