CNN founder Ted Turner, a pioneer of cable TV news, dies at 87

Photo: Ted Turner and Jane Fonda in Washington DC circa 2000. Photo credit: John Mathew Smith / www.celebrity-photos.com via Flickr / Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 2.0. Article by Brian Stelter and Ann O’Neill. CNN – updated May 6, 2026.

Ted Turner, the media maverick and philanthropist who founded CNN, a pioneering 24-hour network that revolutionized television news, died peacefully Wednesday, surrounded by his family, according to a news release from Turner Enterprises. He was 87. The Ohio-born Atlanta businessman, nicknamed “The Mouth of the South” for his outspoken nature, built a media empire that encompassed cable’s first superstation and popular channels for movies and cartoons, plus professional sports teams like the Atlanta Braves. […]

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