US President Donald Trump on Wednesday paid tribute to TV news titan Ted Turner, the flamboyant billionaire who founded CNN. In a TRUTH Social post, Trump called the CNN founder “one of the greats in broadcasting history.”
“Ted Turner, one of the all-time greats, just passed away,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform. “One of the greats in broadcasting history and my friend. Whenever I needed him, he was there, always willing to fight for a good cause!”, his post read.
Read also | CNN founder Ted Turner, the architect of the 24-hour news era, has died at the age of 87
Trump, who has built his political career in part by disparaging negative news stories as “fake news” — often aimed specifically at CNN — also said Wednesday that he looks forward to the network coming under new ownership.
People also ask
Artificial intelligence reinforced the insights from this story
•5 QUESTIONS
Donald Trump has paid tribute to CNN founder Ted Turner, calling him “one of the greats in broadcasting history”. But Trump also criticized CNN, saying it had “reawakened” under new ownership and that he hoped new buyers could restore its former credibility.
Donald Trump has criticized CNN, calling it his “baby” that has been destroyed by new ownership. Specifically, he stated that the network “woke up and everything it’s not about.”
Ted Turner founded CNN in 1980, creating the world’s first 24-hour television news network. It aimed to counter the coverage of the major networks by offering constant news updates.
Ted Turner is remembered as a media pioneer who transformed television news by launching CNN and pioneering the 24-hour news cycle. His ambition and risk-taking style changed the way audiences around the world consumed news.
In addition to CNN, Ted Turner built a media empire that included sports franchises and movie studios. He was also a prominent philanthropist who donated $1 billion to United Nations charities, and a prominent landowner who owned extensive ranches and the largest private herd of bison in the US.
He wrote on social media: “He founded CNN, sold it and was personally devastated by the deal because the new ownership took CNN, his ‘baby’ and destroyed it. It woke up and everything it’s not about. Maybe the new buyers, great people, can restore it to its former credibility and glory.”
CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros Discovery, is the target of a hostile takeover by Paramount Skydance, which is headed by the son of billionaire Trump ally Larry Ellison. The deal is pending regulatory approval.
The combined entity will include CNN, CBS, HBO and Nickelodeon, as well as some of Hollywood’s most valuable franchises, including Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and the DC Universe.
Read also | Ted Turner, the outspoken founder of CNN, has died at the age of 87
Ted Turner dies aged 87
Ted Turner died Wednesday, CNN reported, citing a press release from his company, Turner Enterprises. He was 87.
The Associated Press described him as a brash and outspoken television pioneer who created a media empire and transformed the news business by creating CNN and establishing a 24-hour cable news cycle.
In 2018, he announced that he was suffering from dementia with Lewy bodies, a progressive brain disorder, after which he largely disappeared from public life.
Read also | For Trump, talks about the Warner megadeal are all about CNN
He died surrounded by his family, according to Turner Enterprises, which oversees his extensive business interests and investments, the Associated Press reported.
Turner’s empire expanded far beyond media, owning professional sports teams in Atlanta and vast swaths of the American West. He also raced yachts, defending the America’s Cup in 1977.
Read also | Is Jim Acosta Leaving CNN? The report suggests the departure of critic Donald Trump
He donated a staggering $1 billion to UN charities and supported conservation efforts through habitat restoration and endangered species work on his sprawling ranches in the West.
Turner married three women — most famously actress Jane Fonda — and earned the nicknames “Captain Outrageous” and “Mouth of the South.”
Read also | Donald Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ Lawsuit Against CNN for $475M Defamation Dismissed
He once boasted, “If I had just a little humility, I would be perfect.”
Dementia with Lewy bodies slowed him down in his later years. Long out of the TV business, he focused on philanthropy and his more than 2 million acres of land, including the nation’s largest herd of bison.
