A man’s legacy is defined by what he has achieved. Going this yardstick, Ted Turner leaves a legacy which to be described rich would be an understatement.
In 1980, he established Atlanta-based Cable News Network(CNN). It was the first 24-hour news channel.
It proved its worth when the Gulf War broke in 1990 by broadcasting the conflict live. CNN was catapulted at the top of the ratings.
Turner was hailed as a visionary. The media business was transformed; so was journalism.
But Turner was much more than a synonym of dollar and cents. He wore many hats-media mogul, broadcast pioneer, philanthropist, champion yatchtsman.
The description of his third wife, Jane Fonda added more colour to his persona. She called him a “swashbuckling pirate”.
The thrill of the hunt mattered to Turner. Whether he was making hostile bid for a rival company several times larger than his own, buying a loss making broadcast station or sailing in triumph through a storm, he was in his element.
His later years softened his brash buccaneer image when he focussed on philanthropy. Turner used his huge land holding to begin his breeding programme of the American bison.
It was instrumental to bring the species back from the brink. Turner looked success and failure just the same.
His fortune dipped following the disastrous 2001 merger of Time Warner with AOL. Yet this low was marked by his making good $ 1 billion pledge to United Nations.
His was a never say die sporting instinct unable to resist a challenge even it came to altruism. Ted Turner lived against the tide.
