Before CNN, Ted Turner's path to media royalty ran through Tennessee
Before CNN, Ted Turner's path to media royalty ran through Tennessee
Peter Burditt, Nashville TennesseanThu, May 7, 2026 at 6:31 PM UTC
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Ted Turner, the billionaire philanthropist who started the first 24-hour news broadcast channel with CNN, recently died at his Florida ranch from Lewy body dementia, a progressive form of the condition. He was 87 years old.
"Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgment," Mark Thompson, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, said in a statement.
"He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN. Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world."
Often called "The Mouth of the South," Turner's rise to media royalty started when he took over his father's successful billboard business and also started buying local radio stations which ultimately grew into Turner Broadcasting System (TBS).
Prior to the growth of TBS and the launching of CNN in 1980, Turner's march to media mogul status more or less started and continued to run through Tennessee, specifically Chattanooga.
Where did Ted Turner attend high school in Tennessee?
McCallie, the prestigious all-boys private school in Chattanooga was Turner's home from 1950 to 1956. Turner left his home in Savannah, Georgia and spent all of his teens at the boarding school, as he was a boarder from the ages 12 to 17.
At the school, Turner picked up a reputation for being a troublemaker. One time, the future media titan lit a tin of shoe polish on fire at the base of a tree in order to try and catch squirrels in a pillowcase, says his alma mater's website. Turner also scored numerous awards during his time at the school, leading the McCallie debate team to a state championship.
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After graduation from McCallie in 1956, Turner attended Brown University but always remained an active alumnus. In 1994, the billionaire donated $25 million to the Chattanooga institution.
"I love McCallie. Probably no single thing or institution has influenced my life more," Turner said in the book "It Ain't as Easy as it Looks."
The Tennessee roots in Ted Turner's billion-dollar media empire
Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner and players mark their final regular-season home game at Fulton County Stadium on Sept. 23, 1996.
Before CNN, the Atlanta Braves and the many other philanthropic and business endeavors Turner undertook, he first got his foot in the door by buying local radio stations.
After taking over his father's advertising business in 1963, Turner entered the radio industry by purchasing five radio stations — two in Charleston, South Carolina, two in Chattanooga and one in Jacksonville, Florida.
The Turner-owned Chattanooga radio stations were WGOW and WYNQ, according to Radio World. Turner held onto the Chattanooga radio properties until 1977, three years before he launched CNN.
With profits from Turner Advertising and his radio holdings, Turner amassed enough capital to purchase the struggling independent Atlanta news channel WJRJ-TV. Later forming into WTBS, the station formed the foundation of TBS. Years later, Turner revolutionized TV after launching CNN in 1980, a gamble he was able to take, in part, because of his Tennessee roots.
Peter Burditt covers trending news and service journalism for The Tennessean. Contact him at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Ted Turner's CNN and media empire started with Tennessee roots
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
