CNN honors Ted Turner’s legacy on air the day he dies
CNN honored founder Ted Turner on the day he died, covering the story as breaking news but with a personal resonance.
When the story broke around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, CNN spent about two consecutive hours on Turner before moving on to other news.
Anchor Wolf Blitzer, whom Turner hired in 1990, talked about how Turner “was always determined to be fair and responsible. The first thing he told me when he hired me was if you’re going to report something negative about someone, give them a chance to respond and make sure you put that on air.”
Brian Stelter, longtime media critic at CNN, said Turner had a knack for seeing things nobody else could see, including the need for 24/7 news at the dawn of the cable era in 1980. CNN was founded in Atlanta by Turner that year.
“He understood the fundamentals of news,” Stelter said. “He hired the right people and put them in the right place.”
Not that it was easy, Stelter noted. Skepticism was rife, and CNN barely scraped along in its early years. “The deck was so stacked against Ted Turner, which made the achievement all the more incredible,” Stelter said. “He risked his personal wealth with barely any runway to keep it going. He stayed one step ahead of the bankers.”
“He had a vision,” anchor Pamela Brown added. “He believed in his vision that CNN would be good for the world. He delivered. He had this tremendous impact all over the world for so many decades.”
And despite multiple ownership changes since he sold Turner Broadcasting in 1996 to Time Warner, “this place has endured,” Stelter said. “That’s a testament to Ted. He created something that outlasted him. It’s his legacy for the thousands of people who work here.”
CNN also spoke to former CNN President Tom Johnson, former anchor Judy Woodruff and chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour.
CNN has one of the largest news operations in the world, which Amanpour said is a direct result of Turner’s investment in that arena. And she appreciated how he sent three women (including her) into Saudi Arabia, a “very anti-women, very patriarchal” society, to cover the Gulf War in 1990 without blinking an eye.
“His presence will live on here,” Brown said. “We will continue to channel him. The news comes first. We have this tremendous responsibility moving forward to carry the values that Ted Turner instilled in us.”
Later in the day, CNN brought in Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz to talk about Turner’s love for old films and “Inside the NBA” host Ernie Johnson Jr. to discuss Turner’s influence on sports.
Turner purchased the Atlanta Braves in 1976 and owned them for 20 years, including when they won the World Series in 1995. Johnson’s father, Ernie Johnson Sr., was an announcer the entire time. Johnson himself joined Turner Sports in 1989 and became a host of “Inside the NBA.”
“It’s a melancholy day for me, a day of reflection,” he said on air. “I remember my first day in 1989 walking onto CNN’s campus. This is Ted’s place. Now I’m part of it. It was that kind of feeling.”
For all his achievements, Turner didn’t act like he was above it all, Johnson said.
“There was just this very human side of him,” he said. “You’d see him leave the ballpark in an ordinary car and be caught in traffic like everybody else. In those days, our offices were at CNN Center. It wasn’t uncommon to see him and Jane Fonda walking through the atrium. He was an everyman to me but a guy who had intense drive.”
To honor Turner, Johnson said he planned to stop by a Ted’s Montana Grill and grab a bison burger for dinner.
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
