Ted Turner
Encyclopedia
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American
media mogul and philanthropist
. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN
, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news
channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation
concept in cable television
. As a philanthropist, he is known for his $1 billion gift to support UN
causes, which created the United Nations Foundation
, a public charity to broaden support for the UN. Turner serves as Chairman
of the United Nations Foundation board of directors
.
Turner's media empire began with his father's billboard
business, which he took over at 24 after his father's suicide. The business, Turner Outdoor Advertising, was worth $1 million when Turner took it over in 1963. Purchase of an Atlanta UHF
station in 1970 began the Turner Broadcasting System
. Cable News Network
revolutionized news media, covering the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
in 1986 and the Persian Gulf War
in 1991. Turner turned the Atlanta Braves
baseball team into a nationally popular franchise and launched the charitable Goodwill Games
. He helped reinvent interest in professional wrestling when he owned one of the most popular wrestling companies of the middle to late 1990s known as World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The Monday night show that it put on was the highest rated on cable and helped boost Turner's channels of TNT and WTBS.
Turner's penchant for controversial statements earned him the nicknames "The Mouth of the South" and "Captain Outrageous". Turner has also devoted his assets to environmental causes. He was the largest private landowner in the United States until John C. Malone
surpassed him in 2011. He uses much of his land for ranches to re-popularize bison
meat (for his Ted's Montana Grill
chain), amassing the largest herd in the world. He also created the environmental-themed animated series Captain Planet and the Planeteers
.
, the son of Florence (née Rooney) and Robert Edward Turner II, a billboard magnate
. When he was nine, his family moved to Savannah, Georgia
. He attended The McCallie School
, a private, boys' preparatory school in Chattanooga, Tennessee
. Turner attended Brown University
and was vice-president of the Brown Debating Union
and captain of the sailing team. He became a member of Kappa Sigma
. Turner initially majored in Classics
. Turner's father wrote saying that his choice made him "appalled, even horrified," and that he "almost puked." Turner later changed his major to Economics
, but he was expelled
before receiving a diploma for having a female student in his dormitory room. Turner was awarded an honorary B.A. from Brown University
in November 1989 when he returned to campus to keynote the National Association of College Broadcasters
second annual conference.
on July 4, 1977 after being chosen to lead the 1977 America's Cup
defense as skipper of the yacht Courageous
. He had purchased the boat after its 1974 America's Cup victory.
On September 18, 1977, he successfully defended the America's Cup
, defeating Australia 4-0. He was inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame
in 1993, and the National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2011.
In the 1979 Fastnet race
, in a storm that killed 15 participants, he skippered Tenacious to a corrected-time victory.
"Jesus freak
s," though he apologized, and dubbed opponents of abortion
"bozos
."
In 2008, Turner explained he not only regretted these statements but said he had made peace with organized religion and had joined with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
, the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
and the United Methodist Church
to fight malaria
. In a 2008 MSNBC interview, Turner stated that he no longer considers himself atheist or agnostic, and prays for sick friends, but keeps it short because "I don't want to load up the wires."
Turner caused a stir in Montana
in 2003 by funding a project to restore westslope cutthroat trout
to Cherry Creek and Cherry Lake. The controversy stemmed from the poison antimycin
used to kill fish in the stream.
In 2008, Turner also received attention when he asserted on PBS's Charlie Rose television program that if steps are not taken to address global warming, within 30 to 40 years "most of the people will have died and the rest of us will be cannibals." Turner also said in the interview that he advocated drastically cutting the U.S. military budget and Americans having no more than 2 children.
He joked about banning men from public office: "Men should be barred from public office for 100 years in every part of the world... The men have had millions of years where we've been running things. We've screwed it up hopelessly. Let's give it to the women."
branch of his father's business. Following his father's March 1963 suicide, Turner became president and chief executive of Turner Advertising Company when he was 24 and turned the firm into a global enterprise. He joined the Young Republicans
but said "he felt at ease among these budding conservatives and was merely following in Ed Turner's far-right footsteps," according to "It Ain't As Easy As It Looks."
During the Vietnam War
Era, Turner’s business prospered; it “had virtual monopolies in Savannah, Macon, Columbus, and Charleston” and was “the largest outdoor advertising company in the Southeast,” according to "It Ain’t As Easy As It Looks". The book observed that Turner “discovered his father had sheltered a substantial amount of taxable income over the years by personally lending it back to the company” and “discovered that the billboard business could be a gold mine, a tax-depreciable revenue stream that threw off enormous amounts of cash with almost no capital investment.” In the late 1960s, Turner used the profits to buy Southern radio stations.
In 1969, he sold his several radio stations to buy a defunct television station in Atlanta on Channel 17. At the time, UHF stations only did well in markets without VHF stations, like Fresno, California
, or in markets with only one station on VHF. Independent UHF stations were not ratings winners or that profitable even in larger markets, but Turner had the foresight that this would change as people wanted more than several choices. He put the station back on the air with the call sign
WTCG. Initially, the station ran old movies from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, along with theatrical cartoons and very old sitcoms and old drama shows. As better syndicated product fell off the VHF stations, Turner would pick it up for his station at a very low price. WTCG ran mostly second- and even third-hand product of the time, including fare such as Gilligan's Island
, I Love Lucy
, Star Trek
, Hazel
, and Bugs Bunny
. WTCG acquired rights to telecast the Atlanta Braves
baseball games in 1973. Turner also purchased UHF Channel 36 WRET
(now WCNC) in Charlotte, North Carolina
and ran it with a format similar to WTCG.
In 1976, the FCC allowed Turner’s WTCG to use a satellite to transmit content to local cable TV providers around the nation. On December 17, 1976, the rechristened WTCG-TV Super-Station began to broadcast old movies, situation comedy
reruns, cartoons, and sports nationwide to cable-TV subscribers. As cable systems developed, many carried his station to free their schedules. This increased his viewers and advertising. Subscribers eventually reached two million subscribers and Turner's net worth rose to $100 million. He bought a 5000 acres (20.2 km²) plantation in Jacksonboro, South Carolina for $2 million.
In 1978, Turner struck a deal with a student-operated radio station at MIT, Technology Broadcasting System to obtain the rights to the WTBS call sign for $50,000. This allowed Turner to strengthen the branding of his "Super-Station" using the acronym TBS; Turner Communications Group was renamed Turner Broadcasting System
and WTCG was renamed as WTBS.
In 1976, Turner bought the Atlanta Braves
and Atlanta Hawks
partially to provide programming for WTCG. Using the rechristened WTBS' superstation status to beam Braves games into nearly every home in North America, Turner made the Braves a household name even before their run of success in the 1990s and early 2000s. At one point, he suggested to pitcher Andy Messersmith
who wore number 17, that he change his surname to "Channel" to promote the television station.
In 1986, Turner founded the Goodwill Games
. Broadcasting the events of these games provided his superstation the ability to provide Olympics-style sports programming that had only been offered by one of the three major networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) up to that time.
Turner Field
, first used for the 1996 Summer Olympics
as Centennial Olympic Stadium
and then converted into a baseball-only facility for the Braves, is named after him.
in 1980. He said: "We won't be signing off until the world ends. We'll be on, and we will cover the end of the world, live, and that will be our last event... we'll play 'Nearer, My God, to Thee
' before we sign off."
After five years, CNN outgrew its home, a former country club on the outskirts of Midtown, Atlanta. Turner purchased the Omni International from developer Tom Cousins and moved CNN there. The complex was rechristened the CNN Center
. As Omni International, the complex had never succeeded. Cousins sold it to Turner along with the Atlanta Hawks
. CNN moved into the end of the tower that once housed The World of Sid and Marty Krofft
. Turner was instrumental in the revival of Atlanta's downtown.
, Turner purchased the film studio MGM
/UA
Entertainment Co. from Kirk Kerkorian
in 1986 for $1.5 billion. Following the acquisition, Turner had an enormous debt and sold parts of the acquisition. MGM/UA Entertainment was sold back to Kirk Kerkorian. The MGM/UA Studio lot in Culver City
was sold to Lorimar
/Telepictures
. Turner kept MGM/UA's pre-May 1986 and pre-merger film and TV library, which included nearly all of MGM/UA's material made before the merger, and a small portion of United Artists
' film and TV properties (which included few UA pictures, the TV series Gilligan's Island
, the RKO Radio Pictures
library, and the pre-1950 Warner Bros.
library and the Fleischer
and Famous Studios
Popeye
cartoons that both were once the property of Associated Artists Productions
, which merged with UA Television in 1958).
(TNT) with Gone with the Wind
. TNT, initially older movies and television shows, added original programs and newer reruns. Since launch in 1994, Turner Classic Movies
broadcast the older Warner Bros, RKO, and MGM libraries. TNT used World Championship Wrestling
(WCW) to attract a broader audience.
In 1992, the MGM library, which included Warner Brothers properties including the early Looney Tunes
and Merrie Melodies
libraries and also the Fleischer Studios and Famous Studios Popeye cartoons, became the core of Cartoon Network
. A year before, Turner's companies purchased Hanna-Barbera Productions
(whose longtime parent, Taft/Great American Broadcasting
, had been headquartered in Turner's original hometown of Cincinnati), adding additional content. With the 1996 Time Warner
merger, the channel's archives gained the later Warner Bros.
cartoon library.
In the mid-1980s, Turner became a force for the colorization
of black-and-white films. In 1985, the film Yankee Doodle Dandy
became the first black-and-white movie redistributed in color after computer coloring. Despite opposition by film aficionados, stars, and directors, the movie won over a section of the public, and Turner colorized a majority of films that he had owned. However, in the mid-1990s, the cost led Turner to abandon the idea. In contrast with TNT, TCM has shown the unaltered versions of films.
was established in August 1986 to oversee film properties owned by Ted Turner. In 1988, Turner purchased Jim Crockett Promotions
which he renamed World Championship Wrestling
(WCW) which became the main competitor to Vince McMahon
's World Wrestling Federation (WWF). In 2001, under AOL Time Warner
, it was sold to the World Wrestling Federation.
In 1989, Turner created the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship
for fiction offering positive solutions to global problems. The winner, from 2500 entries worldwide, was Daniel Quinn
's Ishmael
.
. Turner produced two TV series with him as featured character.
Turner appeared in Gettysburg as Colonel
Waller T. Patton
in 1993
and reprised the role in the 2003
prequel Gods and Generals
; he produced both films.
merged with Time Warner, Inc.
on October 10, 1996, with Turner as vice chairman
and head of Time Warner's cable networks division. Turner was dropped as head of cable networks by CEO Gerald Levin but remained as Vice Chairman of Time Warner. He resigned as Time Warner vice chairman in 2003 and then from the board of directors in 2006.
On January 11, 2001, Time Warner
was purchased by AOL
to become AOL Time Warner, a merger which Turner initially supported. However, the burst of the dotcom bubble hurt the growth and profitability of the AOL division which in turned dragged down the combined company's performance and stock price. At a board meeting in fall 2001, Turner's outburst against AOL Time Warner CEO Gerald Levin eventually led to the latter's announced resignation effective in early 2002, being replaced by Richard Parsons. In contrast to Levin who as CEO isolated Turner from important company matters, Parsons did invite Turner back to provide strategic advice although Turner never received an operational role that he sought. The company dropped "AOL" from its name in 2003. In December 2009, AOL was spun off from the Time Warner conglomerate as a separate company.
Turner was Time Warner's biggest individual shareholder. It is estimated he lost as much as $7 billion when the stock collapsed in the wake of the merger. When asked about buying back his former assets, he replied that he can't afford them now.
. This originated in 1983 when a Murdoch-sponsored yacht collided with Turner's boat during the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
causing it to sink 10 km from the finish line. At the post-race dinner Turner savaged Murdoch, later challenging him to a televised fistfight in Las Vegas.
In 2003, Turner challenged Murdoch to a fistfight, and later accused Murdoch of being a "warmonger" as Murdoch was backing President George W. Bush
's invasion of Iraq.
on a "scouting trip" so Turner could manage the Braves; he ran the team for one game (a loss) before National League
president Chub Feeney
told him managers are forbidden to own financial interest in their club. In the mid-1980s Turner began leaving day-to-day operations to the baseball operations staff.
magazine's Man of the Year.
He used to be America's largest private landowner, owning approximately two million acres (8,000 km2), greater than the land areas of Delaware
and Rhode Island
combined. According to documentary film
maker Michael Moore
, Turner's land has a higher gross domestic product
than Belize
. He has the largest private bison
herd, with 50,000 head. In 2002, Turner co-founded Ted's Montana Grill
, a burger
restaurant
chain specializing in bison meat.
Under his ownership, World Championship Wrestling
became the only federation to outrate and outsell the McMahon
family and their World Wrestling Federation. This event brought about a rise in popularity to professional wrestling and is now known as the Monday Night Wars
. WCW television ratings were also heavily competing with ABC
's Monday Night Football
.
After the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics, Turner founded the Goodwill Games
as a statement for peace through sports.
In 1990, the American Humanist Association
named Turner the Humanist of the Year.
In 1998, Turner pledged to donate $1 billion of his then $3 billion to United Nations
causes, and created the United Nations Foundation
to administer the gift. The foundation "builds and implements public-private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems, and broadens support for the UN through advocacy and public outreach." In 2006, the foundation delivered its billionth dollar to UN causes — $600m of which came from Turner and $400m from public and private partners. Turner has pledged to use the remaining $400m of his commitment to leverage additional funds for UN causes and activities.
Turner served in the United States Coast Guard
. He is also a recipient of the Albert Schweitzer Gold Medal for Humanitarianism
.
In 2006, Turner received the Bower Award for Business Leadership from The Franklin Institute
.
Turner was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame on April 26, 2007.
Newsmaker conference, of Iran
's nuclear position: "They're a sovereign state. We have 28,000. Why can't they have 10? We don't say anything about Israel
— they've got 100 of them approximately — or India
or Pakistan
or Russia
."
A proponent of Obama’s healthcare bill
, Turner has said: “We’re the only first world country that doesn’t have universal healthcare and it’s a disgrace.”
In 2010, in the wake of both the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster
in West Virginia
on 5 April that killed 29 miners and on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
in the Gulf of Mexico
that killed 11 roughneck
s on April 20, Turner stated on CNN that "I'm just wondering if God is telling us He doesn't want to drill offshore. And right before that, we had that coal mine disaster in West Virginia where we lost 29 miners ... Maybe the Lord's tired of having the mountains of West Virginia, the tops knocked off of them so they may get more coal. I think maybe we ought to just leave the coal in the ground and go with solar and wind power and geothermals..."
, which documents his career and personal life.
(1991–2001). He has five children.
Through Turner Enterprises, he owns 15 ranches in Kansas
, Montana
, Nebraska
, New Mexico
, Oklahoma
, and South Dakota
. Totaling 1910585 acres (7,731.9 km²), his US land-holdings make Turner one of the largest individual landowners in North America (by acreage).
Turner's biggest ranch is Vermejo Park Ranch
in New Mexico. At 920 square miles (2,382.8 km²), it is the largest privately owned, contiguous tract of land in the United States
.
Turner sponsors the Public forum debate
of the National Forensic League
.
On December 8, 2010, Turner joked that he is "almost to the edge of poverty," being down to just a few million dollars left out of his previous fortune of billions, or so he told the hosts of MSNBC's a.m. news show. In reality, though Turner's fortune is significantly less than it was at its peak, it still measures in the billions.
}
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
media mogul and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news
United States cable news
Cable news refers to television channels devoted to television news broadcasts, with the name deriving from the proliferation of such networks during the 1980s with the advent of cable television. In the United States, early networks included CNN in 1980, Financial News Network in 1981, and CNN2 ...
channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation
Superstation
Superstation in United States television can have several meanings. In its most precise meaning, a superstation is defined by the Federal Communications Commission as "A television broadcast station, other than a network station, licensed by the FCC that is secondarily transmitted by a satellite...
concept in cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
. As a philanthropist, he is known for his $1 billion gift to support UN
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
causes, which created the United Nations Foundation
United Nations Foundation
The United Nations Foundation started up in 1998 with a $1 billion grant from Ted Turner in order to support the United Nations in executing its programs worldwide. The creation of the Foundation was intended to encourage other donors to also support the UN in its activities...
, a public charity to broaden support for the UN. Turner serves as Chairman
Chair (official)
The chairman is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...
of the United Nations Foundation board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
.
Turner's media empire began with his father's billboard
Billboard (advertising)
A billboard is a large outdoor advertising structure , typically found in high traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertisements to passing pedestrians and drivers...
business, which he took over at 24 after his father's suicide. The business, Turner Outdoor Advertising, was worth $1 million when Turner took it over in 1963. Purchase of an Atlanta UHF
Ultra high frequency
Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...
station in 1970 began the Turner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. is the Time Warner subsidiary managing the collection of cable networks and properties started and acquired by Robert Edward "Ted" Turner starting in the mid-1970s. The company has its headquarters in the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. TBS, Inc...
. Cable News Network
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
revolutionized news media, covering the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster occurred on January 28, 1986, when Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, leading to the deaths of its seven crew members. The spacecraft disintegrated over the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of central Florida at 11:38 am EST...
in 1986 and the Persian Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
in 1991. Turner turned the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
baseball team into a nationally popular franchise and launched the charitable Goodwill Games
Goodwill Games
The Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s...
. He helped reinvent interest in professional wrestling when he owned one of the most popular wrestling companies of the middle to late 1990s known as World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The Monday night show that it put on was the highest rated on cable and helped boost Turner's channels of TNT and WTBS.
Turner's penchant for controversial statements earned him the nicknames "The Mouth of the South" and "Captain Outrageous". Turner has also devoted his assets to environmental causes. He was the largest private landowner in the United States until John C. Malone
John C. Malone
John C. Malone is an American businessman and philanthropist. He served as chief executive officer of cable and media giant, Tele-Communications Inc. , for twenty-four years from 1973–1996. Malone is now chairman of Liberty Media and CEO of Discovery Holding Company. He was the interim CEO...
surpassed him in 2011. He uses much of his land for ranches to re-popularize bison
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
meat (for his Ted's Montana Grill
Ted's Montana Grill
Ted's Montana Grill is an American restaurant chain specializing in bison. The company was founded by media entrepreneur and environmentalist Ted Turner and restaurateur George McKerrow Jr. with the help of corporate chef Chris Raucci as a for-profit effort to stop the extinction of the American...
chain), amassing the largest herd in the world. He also created the environmental-themed animated series Captain Planet and the Planeteers
Captain Planet and the Planeteers
Captain Planet is the title character of the series. In the beginning of the series, Gaia assembles a modern-day team of "Planeteers" from several nations...
.
Early life
Turner was born in Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, the son of Florence (née Rooney) and Robert Edward Turner II, a billboard magnate
Magnate
Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...
. When he was nine, his family moved to Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
. He attended The McCallie School
The McCallie School
The McCallie School is a boys college-preparatory school located on Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA. The school was founded in 1905 and now educates a student body comprising 230 boarding students in grades 9-12 and 660 day students in grades 6-12.- History :Brothers Spencer...
, a private, boys' preparatory school in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
. Turner attended Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
and was vice-president of the Brown Debating Union
Brown Debating Union
The Brown Debating Union is a student-run debating organization at Brown University in Providence, RI. It has existed since 1824 and its many members include CNN founder Ted Turner, who was a vice-president of the Union. It began to organize formal debate tournaments with peer institutions, as...
and captain of the sailing team. He became a member of Kappa Sigma
Kappa Sigma
Kappa Sigma , commonly nicknamed Kappa Sig, is an international fraternity with currently 282 active chapters and colonies in North America. Kappa Sigma has initiated more than 240,000 men on college campuses throughout the United States and Canada. Today, the Fraternity has over 175,000 living...
. Turner initially majored in Classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
. Turner's father wrote saying that his choice made him "appalled, even horrified," and that he "almost puked." Turner later changed his major to Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, but he was expelled
Expulsion (academia)
Expulsion or exclusion refers to the permanent removal of a student from a school system or university for violating that institution's rules. Laws and procedures regarding expulsion vary between countries and states.-State sector:...
before receiving a diploma for having a female student in his dormitory room. Turner was awarded an honorary B.A. from Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
in November 1989 when he returned to campus to keynote the National Association of College Broadcasters
National Association of College Broadcasters
The National Association of College Broadcasters , was founded in 1988 by students at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Jumpstarted by a $300,000 grant from the now-defunct CBS Foundation, thanks to connections through the father of co-founder Doug Liman, NACB became the first trade...
second annual conference.
Sailing
Turner entered sailing competitions when he was 12, at the Savannah Yacht Club, and competed in Olympic trials in 1964. He appeared on the cover of Sports IllustratedSports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
on July 4, 1977 after being chosen to lead the 1977 America's Cup
America's Cup
The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...
defense as skipper of the yacht Courageous
Courageous (yacht)
Courageous is a 12-metre class yacht. It was the third boat to win the America's Cup twice, in 1974 and 1977, after Intrepid in 1967 and 1970, and Columbia in 1899 and 1901. All three of these boats won for the NYYC and thus the United States...
. He had purchased the boat after its 1974 America's Cup victory.
On September 18, 1977, he successfully defended the America's Cup
America's Cup
The America’s Cup is a trophy awarded to the winner of the America's Cup match races between two yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America's Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging...
, defeating Australia 4-0. He was inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame
America's Cup Hall of Fame
The America's Cup Hall of Fame, located at the Herreshoff Marine Museum of Bristol, Rhode Island, USA, honors individuals for outstanding achievement in the America's Cup sailing competition...
in 1993, and the National Sailing Hall of Fame in 2011.
In the 1979 Fastnet race
1979 Fastnet race
The 1979 Fastnet race was the twenty-eighth Fastnet race, a yachting race competition held since 1925, generally every two years. In 1979, it was the climax of the five-race Admiral's Cup competition, as it had been since 1957....
, in a storm that killed 15 participants, he skippered Tenacious to a corrected-time victory.
Recent controversies
Turner once called observers of Ash WednesdayAsh Wednesday
Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...
"Jesus freak
Jesus freak
Jesus freak is a term arising from the late 1960s and early 1970s counterculture and is incorrectly used as a pejorative for those involved in the Jesus movement...
s," though he apologized, and dubbed opponents of abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
"bozos
Bozo the Clown
Bozo the Clown is a clown character very popular in the United States, peaking in the 1960s as a result of widespread franchising in early television.Originally created by Alan W...
."
In 2008, Turner explained he not only regretted these statements but said he had made peace with organized religion and had joined with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a mainline Protestant denomination headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA officially came into existence on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three churches. As of December 31, 2009, it had 4,543,037 baptized members, with 2,527,941 of them...
, the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 2.3 million members, it is both the eighth largest Protestant denomination and the second-largest Lutheran body in the U.S. after the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Synod...
and the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
to fight malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
. In a 2008 MSNBC interview, Turner stated that he no longer considers himself atheist or agnostic, and prays for sick friends, but keeps it short because "I don't want to load up the wires."
Turner caused a stir in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
in 2003 by funding a project to restore westslope cutthroat trout
Westslope cutthroat trout
The westslope cutthroat trout , also known as the blackspotted cutthroat, is a subspecies of the cutthroat trout and is a freshwater fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. The cutthroat is the Montana state fish...
to Cherry Creek and Cherry Lake. The controversy stemmed from the poison antimycin
Antimycin A
Antimycins are a group of secondary metabolites produced by Streptomyces bacteria.-Uses:It is the active ingredient in Fintrol, a chemical piscicide used in fisheries management and in the catfish industry.-Mechanism of action:...
used to kill fish in the stream.
In 2008, Turner also received attention when he asserted on PBS's Charlie Rose television program that if steps are not taken to address global warming, within 30 to 40 years "most of the people will have died and the rest of us will be cannibals." Turner also said in the interview that he advocated drastically cutting the U.S. military budget and Americans having no more than 2 children.
He joked about banning men from public office: "Men should be barred from public office for 100 years in every part of the world... The men have had millions of years where we've been running things. We've screwed it up hopelessly. Let's give it to the women."
WTBS
After leaving Brown University, Turner returned to the South in late 1960 to become general manager of the Macon, GeorgiaMacon, Georgia
Macon is a city located in central Georgia, US. Founded at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. Macon is the biggest city in central Georgia...
branch of his father's business. Following his father's March 1963 suicide, Turner became president and chief executive of Turner Advertising Company when he was 24 and turned the firm into a global enterprise. He joined the Young Republicans
Young Republicans
The Young Republicans is an organization for members of the Republican Party of the United States between the ages of 18 and 40. It has both a national organization and chapters in individual states....
but said "he felt at ease among these budding conservatives and was merely following in Ed Turner's far-right footsteps," according to "It Ain't As Easy As It Looks."
During the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
Era, Turner’s business prospered; it “had virtual monopolies in Savannah, Macon, Columbus, and Charleston” and was “the largest outdoor advertising company in the Southeast,” according to "It Ain’t As Easy As It Looks". The book observed that Turner “discovered his father had sheltered a substantial amount of taxable income over the years by personally lending it back to the company” and “discovered that the billboard business could be a gold mine, a tax-depreciable revenue stream that threw off enormous amounts of cash with almost no capital investment.” In the late 1960s, Turner used the profits to buy Southern radio stations.
In 1969, he sold his several radio stations to buy a defunct television station in Atlanta on Channel 17. At the time, UHF stations only did well in markets without VHF stations, like Fresno, California
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
, or in markets with only one station on VHF. Independent UHF stations were not ratings winners or that profitable even in larger markets, but Turner had the foresight that this would change as people wanted more than several choices. He put the station back on the air with the call sign
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
WTCG. Initially, the station ran old movies from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, along with theatrical cartoons and very old sitcoms and old drama shows. As better syndicated product fell off the VHF stations, Turner would pick it up for his station at a very low price. WTCG ran mostly second- and even third-hand product of the time, including fare such as Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island is an American television series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The situation comedy series featured Bob Denver; Alan Hale, Jr.; Jim Backus; Natalie Schafer; Tina Louise; Russell Johnson; and Dawn Wells. It aired for...
, I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy
I Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
, Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
, Hazel
Hazel
The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...
, and Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
. WTCG acquired rights to telecast the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
baseball games in 1973. Turner also purchased UHF Channel 36 WRET
WCNC-TV
WCNC-TV is the NBC affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 22 and is carried on cable channel 6 on most area cable systems. It is owned by the Belo Corporation...
(now WCNC) in Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
and ran it with a format similar to WTCG.
In 1976, the FCC allowed Turner’s WTCG to use a satellite to transmit content to local cable TV providers around the nation. On December 17, 1976, the rechristened WTCG-TV Super-Station began to broadcast old movies, situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
reruns, cartoons, and sports nationwide to cable-TV subscribers. As cable systems developed, many carried his station to free their schedules. This increased his viewers and advertising. Subscribers eventually reached two million subscribers and Turner's net worth rose to $100 million. He bought a 5000 acres (20.2 km²) plantation in Jacksonboro, South Carolina for $2 million.
In 1978, Turner struck a deal with a student-operated radio station at MIT, Technology Broadcasting System to obtain the rights to the WTBS call sign for $50,000. This allowed Turner to strengthen the branding of his "Super-Station" using the acronym TBS; Turner Communications Group was renamed Turner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. is the Time Warner subsidiary managing the collection of cable networks and properties started and acquired by Robert Edward "Ted" Turner starting in the mid-1970s. The company has its headquarters in the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. TBS, Inc...
and WTCG was renamed as WTBS.
In 1976, Turner bought the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
and Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...
partially to provide programming for WTCG. Using the rechristened WTBS' superstation status to beam Braves games into nearly every home in North America, Turner made the Braves a household name even before their run of success in the 1990s and early 2000s. At one point, he suggested to pitcher Andy Messersmith
Andy Messersmith
John Alexander "Andy" Messersmith is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was the 12th overall pick of the 1966 amateur draft by the California Angels...
who wore number 17, that he change his surname to "Channel" to promote the television station.
In 1986, Turner founded the Goodwill Games
Goodwill Games
The Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s...
. Broadcasting the events of these games provided his superstation the ability to provide Olympics-style sports programming that had only been offered by one of the three major networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) up to that time.
Turner Field
Turner Field
Turner Field is a stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, home to Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves since 1997. Turner Field was originally built as Centennial Olympic Stadium, it was completed in 1996 to serve as the centerpiece of the 1996 Summer Olympics...
, first used for the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
as Centennial Olympic Stadium
Centennial Olympic Stadium
Centennial Olympic Stadium was the 85,000-seat main stadium of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta. Construction of the stadium began in 1993, and it was complete and ready for the Opening Ceremony in July 1996, where it hosted track and field events and the closing ceremony...
and then converted into a baseball-only facility for the Braves, is named after him.
CNN
Turner created CNNCNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
in 1980. He said: "We won't be signing off until the world ends. We'll be on, and we will cover the end of the world, live, and that will be our last event... we'll play 'Nearer, My God, to Thee
Nearer, My God, to Thee
"Nearer, My God, to Thee" is a 19th century Christian hymn by Sarah Flower Adams, based loosely on Genesis 28:11–19, the story of Jacob's dream. Genesis 28:11–12 can be translated as follows: "So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the...
' before we sign off."
After five years, CNN outgrew its home, a former country club on the outskirts of Midtown, Atlanta. Turner purchased the Omni International from developer Tom Cousins and moved CNN there. The complex was rechristened the CNN Center
CNN Center
The CNN Center is the world headquarters of the Cable News Network . The main newsrooms and studios for several of CNN's news channels are located in the building...
. As Omni International, the complex had never succeeded. Cousins sold it to Turner along with the Atlanta Hawks
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...
. CNN moved into the end of the tower that once housed The World of Sid and Marty Krofft
The World of Sid and Marty Krofft
The World of Sid and Marty Krofft was an amusement park in Atlanta, Georgia. It was based on the various TV shows produced by the sibling duo Sid and Marty Krofft. It was notable for being the world's first entirely indoor amusement park.-Beginnings:...
. Turner was instrumental in the revival of Atlanta's downtown.
MGM
After a failed attempt to acquire CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, Turner purchased the film studio MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B. Mayer...
/UA
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
Entertainment Co. from Kirk Kerkorian
Kirk Kerkorian
Kerkor "Kirk" Kerkorian is an American businessman who is the president/CEO of Tracinda Corporation, his private holding company based in Beverly Hills, California. Kerkorian is known as one of the important figures in shaping Las Vegas and, with architect Martin Stern, Jr...
in 1986 for $1.5 billion. Following the acquisition, Turner had an enormous debt and sold parts of the acquisition. MGM/UA Entertainment was sold back to Kirk Kerkorian. The MGM/UA Studio lot in Culver City
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
was sold to Lorimar
Lorimar Productions
Lorimar, later known as Lorimar Television and Lorimar Distribution, was an American television production company that was later a subsidiary of Warner Bros., active from 1969 until 1993...
/Telepictures
Telepictures
Telepictures is an American production company, currently operating as a label of Warner Bros. Television, with Hilary Estey McLoughlin currently serving as President...
. Turner kept MGM/UA's pre-May 1986 and pre-merger film and TV library, which included nearly all of MGM/UA's material made before the merger, and a small portion of United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
' film and TV properties (which included few UA pictures, the TV series Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island
Gilligan's Island is an American television series created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz and originally produced by United Artists Television. The situation comedy series featured Bob Denver; Alan Hale, Jr.; Jim Backus; Natalie Schafer; Tina Louise; Russell Johnson; and Dawn Wells. It aired for...
, the RKO Radio Pictures
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
library, and the pre-1950 Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
library and the Fleischer
Fleischer Studios
Fleischer Studios, Inc., was an American corporation which originated as an Animation studio located at 1600 Broadway, New York City, New York...
and Famous Studios
Famous Studios
Famous Studios was the animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was founded as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount acquired the aforementioned studio and ousted its founders, Max and Dave Fleischer, in 1941...
Popeye
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
cartoons that both were once the property of Associated Artists Productions
Associated Artists Productions
Associated Artists Productions was a distributor of theatrical feature films and short subjects for television. It existed from 1953 to 1958. It was later folded into United Artists. The former a.a.p. library was later owned by MGM/UA Entertainment and then Turner Entertainment. Turner continues...
, which merged with UA Television in 1958).
TNT and Cartoon Network
Turner used these to add cable channels. In 1988, he introduced Turner Network TelevisionTurner Network Television
Turner Network Television is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner...
(TNT) with Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind (film)
Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American historical epic film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name. It was produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Victor Fleming from a screenplay by Sidney Howard...
. TNT, initially older movies and television shows, added original programs and newer reruns. Since launch in 1994, Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
broadcast the older Warner Bros, RKO, and MGM libraries. TNT used World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
(WCW) to attract a broader audience.
In 1992, the MGM library, which included Warner Brothers properties including the early Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
and Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
libraries and also the Fleischer Studios and Famous Studios Popeye cartoons, became the core of Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
. A year before, Turner's companies purchased Hanna-Barbera Productions
Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
(whose longtime parent, Taft/Great American Broadcasting
Taft Broadcasting
The Taft Broadcasting Company, also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated, was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio....
, had been headquartered in Turner's original hometown of Cincinnati), adding additional content. With the 1996 Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
merger, the channel's archives gained the later Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
cartoon library.
In the mid-1980s, Turner became a force for the colorization
Film colorization
Film colorization is any process that adds color to black-and-white, sepia or monochrome moving-picture images. It may be done as a special effect, or to modernize black-and-white films, or to restore color films...
of black-and-white films. In 1985, the film Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owns Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp and Jeanne Cagney.The movie was written by...
became the first black-and-white movie redistributed in color after computer coloring. Despite opposition by film aficionados, stars, and directors, the movie won over a section of the public, and Turner colorized a majority of films that he had owned. However, in the mid-1990s, the cost led Turner to abandon the idea. In contrast with TNT, TCM has shown the unaltered versions of films.
Turner Entertainment
Turner Entertainment Co.Turner Entertainment
Turner Entertainment Company, Inc. is an American media company founded by Ted Turner. Now owned by Time Warner, the company is largely responsible for overseeing its library for worldwide distribution Turner Entertainment Company, Inc. (commonly known as Turner Entertainment Co.) is an American...
was established in August 1986 to oversee film properties owned by Ted Turner. In 1988, Turner purchased Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
which he renamed World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
(WCW) which became the main competitor to Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
's World Wrestling Federation (WWF). In 2001, under AOL Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
, it was sold to the World Wrestling Federation.
In 1989, Turner created the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship
Turner Tomorrow Fellowship Award
The Turner Tomorrow Fellowship Award was created in 1989 by Ted Turner, to be awarded to an unpublished work of fiction offering creative and positive solutions to global problems. Ishmael by Daniel Quinn won the award in 1991, which will not be awarded again, and was selected out of 2500 entries...
for fiction offering positive solutions to global problems. The winner, from 2500 entries worldwide, was Daniel Quinn
Daniel Quinn
Daniel Quinn is an American writer described as an environmentalist. He is best known for his book Ishmael , which won the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship Award in 1991....
's Ishmael
Ishmael (novel)
Ishmael is a 1992 philosophical novel by Daniel Quinn. It examines mythology, its effect on ethics, and how that relates to sustainability. The novel uses a style of Socratic dialogue to deconstruct the notion that humans are the end product, the pinnacle of biological evolution...
.
Turner Foundation
In 1990, he created the Turner Foundation, which focuses on philanthropic grants in environment and population. In the same year he created Captain Planet, an environmental superheroSuperhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
. Turner produced two TV series with him as featured character.
Turner appeared in Gettysburg as Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Waller T. Patton
Waller T. Patton
Waller Tazewell Patton , was a professor, attorney, and an officer of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
in 1993
1993 in film
The year 1993 in film involved many significant films, including the blockbuster hits Jurassic Park, The Fugitive and The Firm. -Events:...
and reprised the role in the 2003
2003 in film
The year 2003 in film involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Pokémon Heroes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,...
prequel Gods and Generals
Gods and Generals (film)
Gods and Generals is a 2003 American film based on the novel Gods and Generals by Jeffrey Shaara. It depicts events that take place prior to those shown in the 1993 film Gettysburg, which was based on The Killer Angels, a novel by Shaara's father, Michael...
; he produced both films.
MIBC
In 1993, Turner and Russian journalist Eduard Sagalajev founded The Moscow Independent Broadcasting Corporation. This corporation operated the sixth frequency in Russian television and founded the Russian channel TV-6. The company was later purchased by Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky and an unknown group of private persons. In 2007 the license for TV-6 had expired and there was no application for renewal.Time Warner merger
Turner Broadcasting System, IncTurner Broadcasting System
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. is the Time Warner subsidiary managing the collection of cable networks and properties started and acquired by Robert Edward "Ted" Turner starting in the mid-1970s. The company has its headquarters in the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. TBS, Inc...
merged with Time Warner, Inc.
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
on October 10, 1996, with Turner as vice chairman
Chair (official)
The chairman is the highest officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...
and head of Time Warner's cable networks division. Turner was dropped as head of cable networks by CEO Gerald Levin but remained as Vice Chairman of Time Warner. He resigned as Time Warner vice chairman in 2003 and then from the board of directors in 2006.
On January 11, 2001, Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
was purchased by AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
to become AOL Time Warner, a merger which Turner initially supported. However, the burst of the dotcom bubble hurt the growth and profitability of the AOL division which in turned dragged down the combined company's performance and stock price. At a board meeting in fall 2001, Turner's outburst against AOL Time Warner CEO Gerald Levin eventually led to the latter's announced resignation effective in early 2002, being replaced by Richard Parsons. In contrast to Levin who as CEO isolated Turner from important company matters, Parsons did invite Turner back to provide strategic advice although Turner never received an operational role that he sought. The company dropped "AOL" from its name in 2003. In December 2009, AOL was spun off from the Time Warner conglomerate as a separate company.
Turner was Time Warner's biggest individual shareholder. It is estimated he lost as much as $7 billion when the stock collapsed in the wake of the merger. When asked about buying back his former assets, he replied that he can't afford them now.
Rivalry with Murdoch and Fox
Turner has a long running grudge with fellow cable magnate Rupert MurdochRupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
. This originated in 1983 when a Murdoch-sponsored yacht collided with Turner's boat during the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, Australia on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart. The race distance is approximately...
causing it to sink 10 km from the finish line. At the post-race dinner Turner savaged Murdoch, later challenging him to a televised fistfight in Las Vegas.
In 2003, Turner challenged Murdoch to a fistfight, and later accused Murdoch of being a "warmonger" as Murdoch was backing President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's invasion of Iraq.
Atlanta Braves
For most of his first decade as owner of the Braves, Turner was a very hands-on owner. He said, "Managing isn't that difficult; you just have to score more runs than the other guy." In 1977, he sent manager Dave BristolDave Bristol
James David Bristol is a former manager in Major League Baseball in the 1960s and 1970s. He managed the Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves, and San Francisco Giants during this period....
on a "scouting trip" so Turner could manage the Braves; he ran the team for one game (a loss) before National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
president Chub Feeney
Chub Feeney
Charles Stoneham "Chub" Feeney was an American front office executive in Major League Baseball and president of the National League during a 40-plus year career in baseball....
told him managers are forbidden to own financial interest in their club. In the mid-1980s Turner began leaving day-to-day operations to the baseball operations staff.
Achievements
In 1991, Turner became the first media figure to be named TimeTime (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine's Man of the Year.
He used to be America's largest private landowner, owning approximately two million acres (8,000 km2), greater than the land areas of Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
and Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
combined. According to documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
maker Michael Moore
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries...
, Turner's land has a higher gross domestic product
Gross domestic product
Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....
than Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
. He has the largest private bison
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
herd, with 50,000 head. In 2002, Turner co-founded Ted's Montana Grill
Ted's Montana Grill
Ted's Montana Grill is an American restaurant chain specializing in bison. The company was founded by media entrepreneur and environmentalist Ted Turner and restaurateur George McKerrow Jr. with the help of corporate chef Chris Raucci as a for-profit effort to stop the extinction of the American...
, a burger
Hamburger
A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
chain specializing in bison meat.
Under his ownership, World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
became the only federation to outrate and outsell the McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
family and their World Wrestling Federation. This event brought about a rise in popularity to professional wrestling and is now known as the Monday Night Wars
Monday Night Wars
Monday Night Wars is the common term describing the period of mainstream televised American professional wrestling from September 4, 1995, to March 26, 2001. During this time, the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw went head-to-head with World Championship Wrestling's Monday Nitro in a...
. WCW television ratings were also heavily competing with ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
.
After the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics, Turner founded the Goodwill Games
Goodwill Games
The Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s...
as a statement for peace through sports.
In 1990, the American Humanist Association
American Humanist Association
The American Humanist Association is an educational organization in the United States that advances Humanism. "Humanism is a progressive philosophy of life that, without theism and other supernatural beliefs, affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that...
named Turner the Humanist of the Year.
In 1998, Turner pledged to donate $1 billion of his then $3 billion to United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
causes, and created the United Nations Foundation
United Nations Foundation
The United Nations Foundation started up in 1998 with a $1 billion grant from Ted Turner in order to support the United Nations in executing its programs worldwide. The creation of the Foundation was intended to encourage other donors to also support the UN in its activities...
to administer the gift. The foundation "builds and implements public-private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems, and broadens support for the UN through advocacy and public outreach." In 2006, the foundation delivered its billionth dollar to UN causes — $600m of which came from Turner and $400m from public and private partners. Turner has pledged to use the remaining $400m of his commitment to leverage additional funds for UN causes and activities.
Turner served in the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
. He is also a recipient of the Albert Schweitzer Gold Medal for Humanitarianism
Albert Schweitzer Gold Medal for Humanitarianism
The Albert Schweitzer Gold Medal for Humanitarianism was established in 1989. It is given to individuals who have demonstrated exemplary service to humanity. Recipients include:* Dwayne O. Andreas, Chairman of the Board, Archer Daniels Midland...
.
In 2006, Turner received the Bower Award for Business Leadership from The Franklin Institute
Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States, dating to 1824. The Institute also houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.-History:On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughn Merrick and...
.
Turner was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame on April 26, 2007.
Politics
On September 19, 2006, Turner said in a ReutersReuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
Newsmaker conference, of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
's nuclear position: "They're a sovereign state. We have 28,000. Why can't they have 10? We don't say anything about Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
— they've got 100 of them approximately — or India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
or Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
or Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
."
A proponent of Obama’s healthcare bill
America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009
The proposed America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 was an unsuccessful bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on July 14, 2009. The bill was introduced during the first session of the 111th Congress as part of an effort of the Democratic Party leadership to enact health...
, Turner has said: “We’re the only first world country that doesn’t have universal healthcare and it’s a disgrace.”
In 2010, in the wake of both the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster
Upper Big Branch Mine disaster
The Upper Big Branch Mine disaster occurred on April 5, 2010 about underground in Raleigh County, West Virginia at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch coal mine located in Montcoal . Twenty-nine out of thirty-one miners at the site were killed. The explosion occurred at 3:27 pm...
in West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
on 5 April that killed 29 miners and on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which flowed unabated for three months in 2010, and continues to leak fresh oil. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry...
in the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
that killed 11 roughneck
Roughneck
Roughneck is a slang term for a person whose occupation is hard-manual labour, typically in a dangerous working environment. The term applies across a number of industries, but is most commonly associated with oil rigs...
s on April 20, Turner stated on CNN that "I'm just wondering if God is telling us He doesn't want to drill offshore. And right before that, we had that coal mine disaster in West Virginia where we lost 29 miners ... Maybe the Lord's tired of having the mountains of West Virginia, the tops knocked off of them so they may get more coal. I think maybe we ought to just leave the coal in the ground and go with solar and wind power and geothermals..."
Views on the shifting media landscape
Turner claims to have predicted the demise of newspapers 30 years ago and has called print journalism “an obsolete way of distributing information.”Books
In the 1997 biography It Ain't As Easy as It Looks by Porter Bibb, Turner discussed his use of Lithium and struggles with manic depression. In 2008, Turner wrote Call Me TedCall Me Ted
Call Me Ted is an autobiography written by American businessman Ted Turner and released on November 10, 2008. The book was written over the course of three years with the help of Bill Burke, a former executive for TBS...
, which documents his career and personal life.
Personal life
Turner has been married and divorced three times: to Judy Nye (1960–64), Jane Shirley Smith (1965–88), and actress Jane FondaJane Fonda
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
(1991–2001). He has five children.
Through Turner Enterprises, he owns 15 ranches in Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, and South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
. Totaling 1910585 acres (7,731.9 km²), his US land-holdings make Turner one of the largest individual landowners in North America (by acreage).
Turner's biggest ranch is Vermejo Park Ranch
Vermejo Park Ranch
The Vermejo Park Ranch is a ranch owned by Ted Turner in northeastern New Mexico and southern Colorado that is said to be the largest privately owned, contiguous tract of land in the United States....
in New Mexico. At 920 square miles (2,382.8 km²), it is the largest privately owned, contiguous tract of land in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Turner sponsors the Public forum debate
Public forum debate
Public forum debate, also known as crossfire debate, PFD , is a style of debate practiced in National Forensic League, Texas Forensics Association, and National Catholic Forensic League competitions....
of the National Forensic League
National Forensic League
The National Forensic League is a non-partisan, non-profit educational honor society established to encourage and motivate American high school students to participate in and become proficient in the forensic arts: debate, public speaking and interpretation. NFL is the America's oldest and largest...
.
On December 8, 2010, Turner joked that he is "almost to the edge of poverty," being down to just a few million dollars left out of his previous fortune of billions, or so he told the hosts of MSNBC's a.m. news show. In reality, though Turner's fortune is significantly less than it was at its peak, it still measures in the billions.
Further reading
- Call Me Ted by Ted Turner and Bill Burke (Grand Central Publishing, 2008) ISBN 978-0-446-58189-9
- Racing Edge by Ted Turner (Simon & Schuster, 1979) ISBN 0-671-24419-1
- Biographies:
- Media Man: Ted Turner's Improbable Empire by Ken Auletta (W. W. Norton, 2004) ISBN 0-393-05168-4
- Clash of the Titans: How the Unbridled Ambition of Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch Has Created Global Empires that Control What We Read and Watch Each Day by Richard Hack (New Millennium Press, 2003) ISBN 1-893224-60-0
- Me and Ted Against the World: The Unauthorized Story of the Founding of CNN by Reese Schonfeld (HarperBusiness, 2001) 0060197463
- Ted Turner Speaks: Insights from the World's Greatest Maverick by Janet Lowe (Wiley, 1999) ISBN 0-471-34563-6
- Riding A White Horse: Ted Turner's Goodwill Games and Other Crusades by Althea Carlson (Episcopal Press, 1998) ISBN 0-9663743-0-4
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-
- Citizen Turner: The Wild Rise of an American Tycoon by Robert Goldberg and Gerald Jay GoldbergGerald Jay GoldbergGerald Jay Goldberg is an American author. Professor emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles, he is a novelist, critic, and author of a nonfiction study of the network news and a biography of Ted Turner.Goldberg’s best-known work is The Lynching of Orin Newfield , a powerful novel...
(Harcourt, 1995) ISBN 0-15-118008-3 - CNN: The Inside Story: How a Band of Mavericks Changed the Face of Television News by Hank Whittemore (Little Brown & Co, 1990) ISBN 0-316-93761-4
- Lead Follow or Get Out of the Way: The Story of Ted Turner by Christian Williams (Times Books, 1981) ISBN 0-8129-1004-4
- Atlanta Rising: The Invention of an International City 1946–1996 by Frederick Allen (Longstreet Press, 1996) ISBN 1-56352-296-9
- Citizen Turner: The Wild Rise of an American Tycoon by Robert Goldberg and Gerald Jay Goldberg