Ted Turner, CNN founder who pioneered cable TV news, dies at 87
CNN • • nation
Key Points:
- Ted Turner, founder of CNN and a pioneering figure in 24-hour television news, died at age 87, leaving behind a legacy as a media innovator, philanthropist, and conservationist.
- Turner revolutionized television by launching CNN in 1980, the first 24-hour news channel, and later expanded into other cable networks including TNT, TCM, and Cartoon Network.
- Beyond media, Turner was a major philanthropist, founding the United Nations Foundation and working on nuclear disarmament, environmental causes, and wildlife conservation, notably reintroducing bison to the American West.
- Despite personal and professional challenges, including the loss of his father to suicide and a high-profile marriage and divorce with Jane Fonda, Turner remained dedicated to his philanthropic and environmental missions.
- Turner revealed in 2018 that he had Lewy body dementia and was hospitalized briefly in 2025; he is survived by five children, 14 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
