Before there were bombastic businessmen like Donald Trump and later Elon Musk, there was Ted Turner. He was called the “Mouth of the South,” full of bluster and humor. For better or worse, as he later admitted, he was the man who created 24-hour cable news.
There was a time in the news business that “breaking news” did not happen every 10 minutes. If one more person on that boat with Hantavirus got sick at 9 p.m., you’d have to wait until morning to be told.
(IN THE NEWS: Ted Turner’s ties to Chattanooga date to his days at McCallie)
Modern-day cable news was invented when Ted Turner, an intrepid Atlanta entrepreneur, created it by starting CNN. I knew Ted through my Atlanta business days and a close relationship I had with one of CNN’s anchors. He was bigger than life, the type of guy who would challenge a thunderstorm to a fistfight.
And, like most great entrepreneurs, he created jobs for his city and generational wealth for those in his orbit.