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Ted Turner dies at 87, CNN founder and media pioneer

newsMay 6, 20261465,643

Ted Turner, the media mogul who founded CNN, TBS and Cartoon Network, died at 87. He launched CNN in 1980 as the first 24-hour news network and turned Atlanta's WTBS into a national cable superstation, reshaping how Americans consumed television. Turner later sold Turner Broadcasting to Time Warner, owned the Atlanta Braves and Hawks, became one of the nation's largest private landowners and funded major global causes, including a $1 billion donation to the United Nations. His creation of round-the-clock news and national cable outlets transformed news cycles, advertising, sports broadcasting and political coverage for decades.

Melissa Ryan
@melissaryan.bsky.social

I love every headline about Ted Turner that includes "Jane Fonda's ex-husband." As if that was one of his biggest accomplishments in life. (Which arguably it is. Dude convinced *the* Jane Fonda to marry him.)

199245d ago
sat88.bsky.social34

Hell, women are regularly described by who their spouse-partner is regardless of their of their own accomplishments. Nice to see it in reverse every now and then.

Cast Adrift 🫘16

Dude was famous on his own. He just wasn’t as visible as he aged. And i doubt he was Trump’s pal. Turner gave billions to charity, including United Nations charities that helped other countries, putting him at odds with scum like Trump.

Carly15

Me too! Like Simone Biles' hubby, you know, what's-his-name.

Dave Waggy13

I mean as an accomplishment that has to be the top tier one!

kenbreakingnews.bsky.social11

I'll always remember when they sat together at an Atlanta Braves game and Jane was so reluctant to do the tomahawk chomp.

CBTbiscuit9

I wonder if Trump really was friends or if hes just saying this since the guy is dead (hes done this before) Turner seems like he was like minded with Fonda on a lot (or used to be) and gave billions to charity. I mean who knows, but I doubt Trump on everything

Grandma 8

TBH, he probably held that badge as the biggest highlight of his life.

jaypea6

If I ever married Jane Fonda it would be the first and last thing I told everybody about myself.

AxeDame6

Slight amendment: Jane Fonda's FAVOURITE ex-husband ☺️

Andrew Quinn🏳️‍🌈🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇵🇸🤘🏻😸6

I genuinely recognise her name but not his 🤷🏼‍♂️ and had to Google him. So he's probably supposed to be famous, but her name is what endures.

The US must end its illegal war of aggression against Iran5

Are people supposed to know who every business man is? Everyone knows who Jane Fonda is.

Ohma5

His favorite wife so he said

kat lazarus5

We all make mistakes. I try not to hold it against her for marrying him.

JoJo Mineo4

#TEDTURNER is a wonderful example of great wealth used for GOOD DEEDS. The amount of land he has saved in perpetuity by his massive conservation efforts alone are enough to earn him his *wings. RIP

Luci-Lu3

Hey !! My car is named Jane. It used to be Forrest but we changed it to Jane when I rebadged my Tesla to a Honda.

Norma Rae 643

Honestly, I thought he was dead already. Without Jane, I forgot about him.

Cynthia Fraase3

They include his name though. Lots of times it's just so-and-so's wife! 😡

kindnessmatters3.bsky.social3

Welllll, I don’t know, I’ve never gotten anything of great measure from Jane Fonda (not that I don’t like her), but Ted Turner has provided a lot of good black-and-white classic movie entertainment for me that I would’ve never otherwise seen.

Buffy the Vagina Displayer3

Ted Turner got things DONE.🍀

rob3

That's all he was to me ... the Janes Ex. End of.

Tigers Claw 🐅🐾 虎の爪2

Was he famous for anything else? Owning something is not an accomplishment

Film Fluent2

Well, Ted did have a really big... wallet.

Matthew Shirts2

Pretty big deal being one of Jane Fonda’s husband

Wanda Boomshaft2

The Mouth of the South himself. RIP

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