Ted Turner, CNN Founder and Media Pioneer, Dies at 87

Ted Turner, the brash and outspoken television pioneer who reshaped the media industry, has died at the age of 87. Turner died Wednesday surrounded by family, according to Turner Enterprises.

Turner first made his mark by taking over his family’s billboard business at just 24 years old following his father’s death, turning it into a multimillion-dollar company. He later shifted his attention to broadcasting, buying a struggling television station in Atlanta and using satellite technology to create the national superstation TBS.

In 1980, Turner launched CNN — the nation’s first 24-hour cable news network — fundamentally changing the way Americans consumed news and helping create the modern around-the-clock news cycle. His vision transformed television journalism and made live breaking news coverage a global expectation.

He was also a major philanthropist and conservationist, donating $1 billion to the United Nations and dedicating vast stretches of land to wildlife preservation and restoring the American bison population.

Turner later sold Turner Broadcasting System to Time Warner in 1996. He was also widely known for his marriage to Jane Fonda, whom he wed in 1991.

From launching cable news to conservation and philanthropy, Ted Turner leaves behind a legacy that permanently changed American media and public life.