Captain Courageous: Ted Turner
“Tez… Sabse Tez.” “Profit from It” ‘Smart News for Smart People” “We bring the world to you” … and so on… The endless list of 24 × 7 news channels only underscores the importance of the much needed information about the happenings around, in this fast moving world. Be it the latest tape released by Laden, Gates’ visit to India, Lathi charge by Police in Mumbai or the Sensex reaching 8895 mark, anything and everything that is happening around the globe would be delivered to you right at the moment it is happening, no matter even if it’s unfolding thousand miles away from the sofa you are cozily laying back in!
The days, when there would be a daily dose of news at a specified time by the long faced, nerdy – looking news readers on DoorDarshan, are long gone. All we want is the latest happening – the “Breaking News” Well, even when the ethics followed by the news – hungry channels are questionable, one person should be given a due credit for freeing the news from the bounds of time and changing the way we look at the world. It’s Ted Turner.
Born in 1938 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Ted Turner inherited the marketing skills of his father. At the age of nine, his family relocated to Savannah, Georgia, where his father built a successful billboard advertising company. Young Ted spent eight years at McCallie School, developing a love for the classics, an aggressive streak as a sailor, and a grasp of history.
He received a degree from Brown University, where he was vice president of the Debating Union and commodore of the Yacht Club. Both of these were to play an important role in his life later.
His father committed suicide in 1963. Story goes that Ted’s father had only 3 ambitions in his life: To become a millionaire, to own a big house and to have a yacht. The day all of them were fulfilled, he committed suicide. This led to Ted sitting at the wheels of the family business – the “Turner Advertising Company”.
Ted decided to jump in the Television Broadcasting industry. He bought an ailing UHF Television station at Atlanta and started broadcasting old movies, sports, and sitcom reruns. In 1970, Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) was launched.
1975 proved to be the fateful year when this “Mouth from the South” launched “Superstation” – a Satellite Transmission channel. He was up against the big players in the market at the time. But he debated bravely in the Congressional hearings and won Federal Communications Commission’s approval for his scheme. Very soon, TBS managed to reach 80% of the US homes.
“Mouth from the South”
On June 1, 1980, Turner inaugurated CNN (Cable News Network), the world's first, live, in-depth, round-the-clock news television network. To a public used to highly-edited, 20-minute nightly news shows, the network offered something addictively new: 24 × 7 news. Though competitors like Sam Donaldson mocked at CNN dubbing it as "Chicken Noodle Network," Turner's venture was such a success that it prompted Turner to start another channel, “Headline News” just two years later. C.N.N. covered worldwide news as it unfolded, bringing events like Poland's Solidarity movement, China's Tiananmen Square uprising, and the 1991 Gulf War into American living rooms. Going into the 21st century, C.N.N. would command an audience of 165 million households worldwide! Launched in September 1985, CNN International serves as the company's global news service and is distributed in more than 210 countries and territories worldwide.
In March 1986, TBS acquired the MGM library of film and television properties. This library formed the foundation for TNT, launched in 1988. Also, In December 1991, Turner acquired the rights, library and production facilities of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons. Cartoon Network, launched in 1992, showcases the company's vast library of cartoons and original productions.
His stint doesn’t end here. An avid sports lover, he purchased Atlanta's professional baseball team in 1976 and its basketball team a year later, to broadcast their games on TBS.
He left US mesmerized by winning the coveted “America’s Cup” – the yacht racing championship. He successfully captained his 61-foot yacht, Tenacious, through a Force 10 gale in 1979 to win a disastrous ocean race in which only 92 of the 302 boats survived, and 19 people were killed! The “Captain Outrageous” was then, truly called the “Captain Courageous”
Finally, Turner sold his company to Time Warner in 1996, and resigned from its management in 2000. Since then, he has thrown his energies into environmental and global peace initiatives. In early 2001, Turner launched the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), a foundation working to close the growing and increasingly dangerous gap between the threat from nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and the global response.
He has also given away a generous $ 1 Billion donation to UN for the World Peace.
Apart from all this, he is, also, the biggest Ranch owner in U.S.!
Turner had seen his father committing suicide just because he had set himself modest goals and there was nothing else left for him to achieve in his life. A true lover of Life, Ted, however, sets himself goals like World Peace and a free, healthy environment which he knows, for sure, are hard to achieve and are ones he would wish to give his life for.
Turner’s is a story of passion and tenacity – a story of fighting against all odds and holding onto your position even when the whole world laughs at you. Hats off to such a courageous maverick leader!
Regards,
Abhishek
The days, when there would be a daily dose of news at a specified time by the long faced, nerdy – looking news readers on DoorDarshan, are long gone. All we want is the latest happening – the “Breaking News” Well, even when the ethics followed by the news – hungry channels are questionable, one person should be given a due credit for freeing the news from the bounds of time and changing the way we look at the world. It’s Ted Turner.
Born in 1938 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Ted Turner inherited the marketing skills of his father. At the age of nine, his family relocated to Savannah, Georgia, where his father built a successful billboard advertising company. Young Ted spent eight years at McCallie School, developing a love for the classics, an aggressive streak as a sailor, and a grasp of history.
He received a degree from Brown University, where he was vice president of the Debating Union and commodore of the Yacht Club. Both of these were to play an important role in his life later.
His father committed suicide in 1963. Story goes that Ted’s father had only 3 ambitions in his life: To become a millionaire, to own a big house and to have a yacht. The day all of them were fulfilled, he committed suicide. This led to Ted sitting at the wheels of the family business – the “Turner Advertising Company”.
Ted decided to jump in the Television Broadcasting industry. He bought an ailing UHF Television station at Atlanta and started broadcasting old movies, sports, and sitcom reruns. In 1970, Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) was launched.
1975 proved to be the fateful year when this “Mouth from the South” launched “Superstation” – a Satellite Transmission channel. He was up against the big players in the market at the time. But he debated bravely in the Congressional hearings and won Federal Communications Commission’s approval for his scheme. Very soon, TBS managed to reach 80% of the US homes.
“Mouth from the South”
On June 1, 1980, Turner inaugurated CNN (Cable News Network), the world's first, live, in-depth, round-the-clock news television network. To a public used to highly-edited, 20-minute nightly news shows, the network offered something addictively new: 24 × 7 news. Though competitors like Sam Donaldson mocked at CNN dubbing it as "Chicken Noodle Network," Turner's venture was such a success that it prompted Turner to start another channel, “Headline News” just two years later. C.N.N. covered worldwide news as it unfolded, bringing events like Poland's Solidarity movement, China's Tiananmen Square uprising, and the 1991 Gulf War into American living rooms. Going into the 21st century, C.N.N. would command an audience of 165 million households worldwide! Launched in September 1985, CNN International serves as the company's global news service and is distributed in more than 210 countries and territories worldwide.
In March 1986, TBS acquired the MGM library of film and television properties. This library formed the foundation for TNT, launched in 1988. Also, In December 1991, Turner acquired the rights, library and production facilities of Hanna-Barbera Cartoons. Cartoon Network, launched in 1992, showcases the company's vast library of cartoons and original productions.
His stint doesn’t end here. An avid sports lover, he purchased Atlanta's professional baseball team in 1976 and its basketball team a year later, to broadcast their games on TBS.
He left US mesmerized by winning the coveted “America’s Cup” – the yacht racing championship. He successfully captained his 61-foot yacht, Tenacious, through a Force 10 gale in 1979 to win a disastrous ocean race in which only 92 of the 302 boats survived, and 19 people were killed! The “Captain Outrageous” was then, truly called the “Captain Courageous”
Finally, Turner sold his company to Time Warner in 1996, and resigned from its management in 2000. Since then, he has thrown his energies into environmental and global peace initiatives. In early 2001, Turner launched the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), a foundation working to close the growing and increasingly dangerous gap between the threat from nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and the global response.
He has also given away a generous $ 1 Billion donation to UN for the World Peace.
Apart from all this, he is, also, the biggest Ranch owner in U.S.!
Turner had seen his father committing suicide just because he had set himself modest goals and there was nothing else left for him to achieve in his life. A true lover of Life, Ted, however, sets himself goals like World Peace and a free, healthy environment which he knows, for sure, are hard to achieve and are ones he would wish to give his life for.
Turner’s is a story of passion and tenacity – a story of fighting against all odds and holding onto your position even when the whole world laughs at you. Hats off to such a courageous maverick leader!
Regards,
Abhishek
posted by Gyan for the Day! | 7:23 pm
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