CNN founder Ted Turner dies at 87
Television pioneer, CNN founder and businessman Ted Turner has died at the age of 87.
Posted May 6, 2026 8:22 am.
Last Updated May 6, 2026 8:42 am.
CNN is reporting that its founder Ted Turner, the outspoken and often outrageous television pioneer, has died at age 87.
The network says Turner died Wednesday, citing a news release from Turner Enterprises.
Turner transformed an obscure Atlanta television station into the first satellite-based “superstation” and founded Cable News Network, the first 24-hour, all news TV network.
The brash southerner owned sports teams, was a champion yacht racer and was married to actress Jane Fonda for 10 years. The onetime “Mouth of the South” once quipped: “If only I had a little humility, I’d be perfect.”
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