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About this Episode
pWotD Episode 3291: Ted Turner
Welcome to popular Wiki of the Day, spotlighting Wikipedia's most visited pages, giving you a peek into what the world is curious about today.
With 837,142 views on Wednesday, 6 May 2026 our article of the day is Ted Turner.
Robert Edward Turner III (November 19, 1938 – May 6, 2026) was an American businessman, television producer, media proprietor and philanthropist. He founded CNN, the first 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television, as well as television network TNT.
As a philanthropist, he gave $1 billion to create the United Nations Foundation, a public charity to broaden U. S. support for the United Nations. Turner served as chairman of the United Nations Foundation board of directors. Additionally, in 2001, Turner co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initiative with U. S. senator Sam Nunn (D-GA). NTI is a non-partisan organization dedicated to reducing global reliance on, and preventing the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. He served as co-chairman of the board of directors.
Turner's media empire began with his father's billboard business, Turner Outdoor Advertising, which he took over in March 1963, after his father's suicide at the age of 53. It was worth $1 million. His purchase of an Atlanta UHF station in 1970 began the Turner Broadcasting System. In 1980, he founded CNN, one of the most prominent news networks in the world. Turner turned the Atlanta Braves baseball team into a nationally popular franchise (including winning the 1995 World Series under his ownership), and launched the charitable Goodwill Games. He helped revive interest in professional wrestling by purchasing Jim Crockett Promotions which was then rebranded as World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
Turner's penchant for controversial statements earned him the nicknames "The Mouth of the South" and "Captain Outrageous". He also devoted his assets to environmental causes. He was the largest private landowner in the United States until John C. Malone surpassed him in 2011. He used much of his land for ranches to re-popularize bison meat (for his Ted's Montana Grill chain) and amassed the largest herd in the world. He also created the environmental-themed animated series Captain Planet and the Planeteers.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 05:50 UTC on Thursday, 7 May 2026.
For the full current version of the article, see Ted Turner on Wikipedia.
This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.
Follow us on Bluesky at @wikioftheday.com.
Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.
Until next time, I'm standard Amy.
Welcome to popular Wiki of the Day, spotlighting Wikipedia's most visited pages, giving you a peek into what the world is curious about today.
With 837,142 views on Wednesday, 6 May 2026 our article of the day is Ted Turner.
Robert Edward Turner III (November 19, 1938 – May 6, 2026) was an American businessman, television producer, media proprietor and philanthropist. He founded CNN, the first 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television, as well as television network TNT.
As a philanthropist, he gave $1 billion to create the United Nations Foundation, a public charity to broaden U. S. support for the United Nations. Turner served as chairman of the United Nations Foundation board of directors. Additionally, in 2001, Turner co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initiative with U. S. senator Sam Nunn (D-GA). NTI is a non-partisan organization dedicated to reducing global reliance on, and preventing the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons. He served as co-chairman of the board of directors.
Turner's media empire began with his father's billboard business, Turner Outdoor Advertising, which he took over in March 1963, after his father's suicide at the age of 53. It was worth $1 million. His purchase of an Atlanta UHF station in 1970 began the Turner Broadcasting System. In 1980, he founded CNN, one of the most prominent news networks in the world. Turner turned the Atlanta Braves baseball team into a nationally popular franchise (including winning the 1995 World Series under his ownership), and launched the charitable Goodwill Games. He helped revive interest in professional wrestling by purchasing Jim Crockett Promotions which was then rebranded as World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
Turner's penchant for controversial statements earned him the nicknames "The Mouth of the South" and "Captain Outrageous". He also devoted his assets to environmental causes. He was the largest private landowner in the United States until John C. Malone surpassed him in 2011. He used much of his land for ranches to re-popularize bison meat (for his Ted's Montana Grill chain) and amassed the largest herd in the world. He also created the environmental-themed animated series Captain Planet and the Planeteers.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 05:50 UTC on Thursday, 7 May 2026.
For the full current version of the article, see Ted Turner on Wikipedia.
This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.
Follow us on Bluesky at @wikioftheday.com.
Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.
Until next time, I'm standard Amy.
No transcript available for this episode.
