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In every century, there comes a person who brings a revolution to the world and the world witness a new wave of development, after such revolutions. A similar person revolutionized the television industry from 1980 onwards. From starting a 24-hour news channel to broadcasting films, sitcoms and gifting the children with their favourite cartoon channel, this man named Ted Turner, is a television and media magnate.

Early Life

Born on 19th November 1938, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Ted Turner’s original name is Robert Edward Turner III. He was born to parents Robert Edward (Ed) Turner Jr. and Florence (Rooney) Turner. He was the eldest child in the family. His father owned a company, Turner Advertising, which sold billboard ads. His father suffered from bipolar disorder, experiencing mood swings, and vented out his anger on young Ted. After years Ted found out that he too suffered from bipolar disorder just like his father.

Ted was left alone in the Cincinnati boarding school after his father signed up for Navy when World War II broke out. Ed came back after the war and moved to Savannah, Georgia, with his family. He enrolled Ted into Georgia Military Academy. Ted attended McCallie boarding school, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he received military training. He wanted to attend the United States Naval Academy, but his father wanted him to attend Harvard. Due to low grades, he had to join the Brown University, in 1956. In 1959, Ted was kicked out of the University for having a woman in his dorm room. He could not earn his diploma and the same year his parents, too, got divorced.

The beginning of Business Career

Ted, then came back South, in 1960, and took up the position of general manager at his father’s company. He was the general manager of Macon, Georgia branch of Turner Advertising. Just in his first year, Ted showed tremendous growth and doubled the revenue of the company. But soon, the company was in a difficult financial condition, when his father bought the company’s competitor, in 1962. This led him into depression and he committed suicide, in March 1963.

After this shocking incident, Ted engrossed himself more in work. He took the positions of president and CEO at the age of 24, and consequently, made the company a global enterprise. The company boosted in financial profits and was considered to have a monopoly in Savannah, Macon, Columbia, and Charleston. In 1969, Ted bought several Southern radio stations and renamed the company as Turner Communications. He sold the radio stations and purchased a couple of struggling television stations. By 1970, Ted Turner became famous as the owner of the largest advertising company, in the southeastern United States. His investment in television channels proved highly profitable as he believed that people wanted several choices. He also purchased rights to old movies, sitcoms, and some cartoons.

But it was in 1976, that a big leap occurred when the FCC gave him the permission to use satellite technology to transmit content to local cable providers. This led Turner to reach an even larger audience. Now, with more audience base and even more broadcasting options, Turner changed the company’s name yet again to Turner Broadcasting Company. He was constantly on the lookout for new business ideas and expanding his broadcasting to larger and larger audiences. It was in the late 1970s when he came up with an idea of starting a 24-hour news network. And in 1980, he launched Cable News Network (CNN) with the help of Reese Schonfeld who was then appointed as the first president and chief executive officer of the channel.

Throughout the years, Turner was constantly investing to expand his business horizon. In 1976, Turner acquired Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), and in 1992, he launched Cartoon Network, which went on to grow one of the most famous cartoon channels, all over the world. In the same year, he launched Turner Network Television and Turner Classic Movies, which made him the leader in both television and internet fields. In 1996, he sold his company to Time Warner for a whopping $7.5 billion. He ventured into yet entirely new business just the next year i.e. a steakhouse serving bison named Ted’s Montana Grill.

Personal Life

Ted Turner married three times and is divorced all the three times. He is the father of five children from his first two marriages. Two from his first wife, Judy Gale, and three from his second wife, Jane Shirley Smith. His most famous marriage was with the actress Jane Fonda, that lasted for ten years and broke over religious disagreements. He is known as the individual owner of largest land in North America.