Tribute to CNN's Ted Turner

Tribute to CNN's Ted Turner

From Mark and Pete by Mark and Pete

May 12, 2026 · 10 min

About this episode

This episode reflects on the life and legacy of CNN founder Ted Turner, exploring his impact on journalism and media.

Ted Turner dead at 87 , it feels a bit like the end of a particular species of American businessman. The loud, impossible, swaggering media baron who looked as though he might buy a television station during a long lunch and then accidentally reshape civilisation before supper. In this episode of Mark and Pete, we look back at the life and legacy of CNN founder Ted Turner, the man who helped invent 24-hour news and, depending on your perspective, either modernised journalism or condemned humanity to permanent “BREAKING NEWS” anxiety forever. We get into the rise of CNN in the 1980s, the Gulf War broadcasts that changed television history, and the strange world before rolling news when people simply watched the six o’clock bulletin and then, rather daringly, carried on with their evening. Younger listeners may struggle to believe such a world existed. Apparently people once knew peace. There’s also discussion of Turner himself: the yachts, the bravado, the environmental campaigning, the enormous land ownership, the bluntness, the sheer scale of the ambition. A genuinely fascinating figure, really. Not tidy. Not corporate. Not focus-grouped into beige compliance by consultants with…

People in this episode

Hosts: Mark, Pete

Topics covered

  • Ted Turner
  • CNN
  • media history
  • journalism
  • 24-hour news
  • Gulf War broadcasts

Keywords

  • Ted Turner
  • CNN
  • media baron
  • 24-hour news
  • Gulf War
  • journalism
  • American businessman

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CNN

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