CNN founder Ted Turner passes away at 87

OHIO: The CNN news founder Ted Turner who was the US famous entrepreneur died on Wednesday at the age of 87, as he had been suffering from the degenerative disease Lewy Body Dementia.

The news came after the CNN network announced today, saying that he was no more with them but said in a statement “He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN.”

It was Ted strengthened the CNN mainstream media and made stronger decisions regarding critical stories coverage during uncertain time, especially at a time US was bombing on the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

His efforts cemented the network’s reputation as an indispensable source of breaking news, as he didn’t compromise on keeping the public fully aware of the on ground developments in Baghdad.

Born in Cincinnati Ohio in Nov 1938, Robert Edward “Ted” Turner III went to a military boarding school in Tennessee and then attended Brown University but was expelled before graduating.

Turner took over a faltering family advertising business after his father, despondent over financial problems, died by suicide.

After buying several radio stations, Turner’s purchase of a struggling Atlanta station in 1970 was his first move into television.

Ten years later, that became the flagship of his nationwide Turner Broadcasting System, the profits from which he parlayed into the launch of CNN.

The CNN news success inspired the creation of other 24-hour news channels which also included Fox News, MSNBC and countless networks worldwide.

Turner’s television empire expanded beyond CNN and included TBS and TNT channels for sports and entertainment, Turner Classic Movies and Cartoon Network, among others.