CNN Founder Ted Turner Dies at 87

Ted Turner, the pioneering media entrepreneur who founded CNN and revolutionized television news with the first 24-hour cable channel, died Wednesday at the age of 87.

Turner passed away peacefully surrounded by family, according to a statement from Turner Enterprises, his private holding company. He had disclosed in 2018 that he was living with Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain disorder affecting memory and cognitive functions. In early 2025, he was hospitalized for pneumonia but recovered.

Born Robert Edward Turner III on November 19, 1938, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Turner inherited his father's struggling billboard business in Atlanta after his father's suicide in 1963. He expanded it into broadcasting by acquiring a money-losing UHF station in 1970, which he transformed into the WTBS superstation using satellite technology to reach national cable audiences. This laid the foundation for Turner Broadcasting System.

In 1980, Turner launched Cable News Network from Atlanta, betting on continuous news coverage at a time when traditional networks dominated with evening broadcasts. CNN gained prominence with live reporting from events like the 1986 Challenger disaster and the 1991...