Turner, Ted (1938-…), an American broadcasting executive, is the founder of Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour cable news channel. The network transmits news worldwide by satellite. Turner is also known for his extensive contributions to world peace and environmental causes.
Robert Edward Turner III was born on Nov. 19, 1938, in Cincinnati. In 1976, he became one of the first broadcasters to use a communications satellite to relay programs to local cable television companies. The programs—sports broadcasts and motion-picture reruns—originated at WTCG, later known as WTBS, a TV station Turner owned in Atlanta.
Turner founded CNN, which began broadcasting in 1980, through his company Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS). In 1996, Turner sold TBS to Time Warner Inc. Time Warner assumed ownership of TBS’s holdings, which included several cable television networks and the Atlanta Braves major league baseball team. Turner became vice chairman of Time Warner. In 2001, Time Warner merged with America Online Inc., to form AOL Time Warner, Inc. Turner became vice chairman and senior adviser at AOL Time Warner. The company was renamed Time Warner Inc. in 2003. Turner stepped down from his position of vice chairman of AOL Time Warner in 2003. He remained on the company’s board of directors until 2006. In 2007, Time Warner sold the Atlanta Braves. In 2009, the merger of AOL and Time Warner ended, and AOL again became a separate company.
Turner has also been a champion yacht racer. His boat won the America’s Cup match, the world’s most famous sailboat competition, in 1977.
Turner makes his charitable contributions through several foundations. Through his United Nations Foundation, established in 1998, he has donated over $1 billion to United Nations agencies. His other philanthropic programs include the Turner Foundation, established in 1990; the Captain Planet Foundation, established in 1991; the Turner Endangered Species Fund, established in 1997; and the Nuclear Threat Initiative, established in 2001. Turner’s third marriage, to actress Jane Fonda in 1991, ended in divorce in 2001. Turner wrote the autobiography Call Me Ted (2008).
