Signing Off

Ted Turner, the media mogul behind the launch of CNN and the commencement of the 24/7 news cycle, died Wednesday at 87.

Turner died peacefully after a battle with Lewy body dementia, a diagnosis he publicly disclosed in 2018. The “Mouth of the South” founded CNN in June 1980 with a risky ~$20M initial startup cost, transforming a sleepy three-network industry into the round-the-clock news machine that now shapes how the world tunes into breaking events. 

Beyond cable, the Atlanta-based magnate built TBS and TNT, owned the Braves through their ‘95 World Series run, became America’s largest private landowner (~2M acres), and pledged $1B to the UN in 1997.  

Tributes poured in across the dial; admirers say Turner revolutionized real-time news, while critics counter that his cable revolution also seeded today’s outrage-driven media polarization.

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Verse to consider when your time on earth draws to a close… “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?” 
John 14:1-2 (CSB) (read full passage)