Overview
- Turner, who died Wednesday at his home near Tallahassee, was confirmed by his family to have passed peacefully with loved ones, and no cause of death has been announced.
- He launched CNN in 1980 as the first 24-hour, all-news TV network, a model that proved its power during the 1991 Gulf War when CNN broadcast live from Baghdad.
- He built a broad cable portfolio that included TNT, Cartoon Network, and Turner Classic Movies, then sold Turner Broadcasting to Time Warner in 1996, a deal that later left him sidelined after subsequent mergers.
- A former owner of the Atlanta Braves and Hawks, he used national cable carriage to boost Atlanta’s profile, with the Braves crediting his TV strategy for turning the club into “America’s Team.”
- Leaders across industries praised his legacy, with CNN’s Mark Thompson calling him fearless and Rupert Murdoch lauding his impact, while coverage also noted his $1 billion pledge to the United Nations and decades of conservation work; the family plans a private service with a public memorial to follow.