Ted Turner, the outspoken media mogul who founded CNN and reshaped the modern news landscape, has died at the age of 87, according to statements released by Turner Enterprises. 

Turner, born Robert Edward Turner III in 1938, rose from running his father’s billboard business to building one of the most influential media empires in history. After acquiring a struggling Atlanta television station in the 1970s, he transformed it into a national “superstation,” laying the groundwork for what would become Turner Broadcasting. 

His most consequential move came in 1980 with the launch of CNN—the world’s first 24-hour news network. At the time, the concept was widely dismissed as risky and unprofitable. Instead, it revolutionized how Americans—and eventually the world—consumed news, delivering real-time coverage of major global events and shaping public perception in ways never before possible. 

Turner’s empire expanded to include major cable networks such as TNT, TBS, and Cartoon Network, as well as ownership of professional sports teams including the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks. His influence extended beyond media into culture, sports, and even geopolitics through what became known as the “CNN effect”—the power of live media coverage to influence policy decisions. 

In 1996, Turner sold his company to Time Warner in a landmark deal, a move he later expressed regret over as corporate consolidation reshaped the media landscape. That shift marked a broader transition in American media—from entrepreneurial ownership to large-scale corporate control—raising ongoing questions about narrative influence, consolidation, and the role of legacy media institutions.

In later years, Turner revealed he had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia in 2018, gradually stepping away from public life. He is survived by his children and extended family.