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The Situation Room

CNN Founder Ted Turner Dies. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired May 06, 2026 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[11:30:01]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: And he really changed the news business.

JUDY WOODRUFF, "PBS NEWSHOUR": He changed the news business.

I mean, I would go so far, Wolf, as to say he transformed the news business, because, when cable came along, we hadn't had -- as everybody here now knows, cable didn't exist before CNN. We didn't have 24/7 news. We didn't have international news.

And Ted made that happen. It was his dream for the longest time. You all have been discussing it. He was determined. And, Wolf, I mean, what people were calling CNN in those early days, Chicken Noodle News, there's no way he's going to turn this fledgling operation into something significant, and he proved all the critics wrong.

I mean, he was the one who literally made it happen. And I was honored to spend the years that I did at CNN.

BLITZER: Yes. And we were honored to have you at CNN too, Judy. It was so great to see you and Bernie reporting the news nightly every night and doing such a great job.

And I'm so happy that Ted Turner and Tom Johnson, the other leaders at CNN gave you guys that opportunity to showcase your talents and do the amazing job that you always did. And it was just inspiring for me as a younger journalist in those days, oftentimes just getting started, learning a little bit about the business, to see how you guys were doing it.

And it was just a wonderful, wonderful experience. And I just want to thank you, because you helped not just me, but you helped so many other journalists get going. And it was just a great, great moment.

WOODRUFF: Thank you.

And if Ted were here, he would be thrilled to see the Ted family around him, all the folks who he brought together. You have been talking -- you have been talking to Christiane. I saw earlier you were talking to Walter Isaacson, who, of course, he brought on at one point to run the news division. Rick Kaplan was another one.

He just -- he brought the best of the best. And that's why we were all so privileged to work with him.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Yes. Tom Johnson as well was on earlier...

WOODRUFF: That's right, yes.

BROWN: ... paying his respects.

And as we learn more about Ted Turner and his legacy, it's clear that he was not afraid to take risks. And, if anything, he looked at -- quote, unquote -- "failure" as opportunities, right? Nothing would hold him back.

Brian Stelter was on earlier saying that banks would laugh at him. Others said, you could never do this. And yet look what he did. He built the most iconic news brand in the world.

And he actually said this to Christiane during an interview. And I think that this is an important line. He said: "You have got to be able to take some disappointment in life too. Not always is every -- not always is everything going to go well. So you just have to roll with the punches when adversity hits you."

And I think that speaks to so much of why he was so successful in his life. He never let anything bring him down.

WOODRUFF: No question, Pamela.

And when you tack that onto the vision that Ted had, I mean, his vision was -- I mean, he started out as someone in advertising. His father had the billboard business in Atlanta. And he started to add TV stations. But, in those days, no one could even imagine what cable news would be. No one could imagine 24/7.

But Ted had this idea in his mind. And he was determined to see it happen, to see it come to fruition. As you said, people made fun of him, the Chicken Noodle News, when CNN came along. But it was that determination and that vision coupled together that turned into the remarkable legacy of Ted Turner.

BROWN: Think how hard that must have been, right? This had never been created before. He is creating something entirely new. And everyone's saying, you can't do this.

WOODRUFF: But he was -- and he was never a shrinking violet.

BROWN: He -- that's true, yes.

WOODRUFF: He was a man who said exactly what he thought, for better or for worse. He got in hot water for that a good bit.

But he was -- he just -- he was someone who -- he was one of those people in life -- and there aren't many of them, but we know a few in the world -- who just -- who bulldoze through, and they have a vision, they have a dream and they make it happen.

I think of Steve Jobs at Apple, and we -- you could name others. Ted belongs in that pantheon of people who -- as I think I said to Wolf a minute ago, who literally changed the news business. It wasn't just creating cable, it was changing it. It's today 24/7. I mean, he...

BROWN: Worldwide.

WOODRUFF: Who could have imagined instant news, the Internet, social media?

But he -- Ted Turner really turned the corner in terms of where news was headed.

BROWN: Yes. As I said earlier, he was ahead of his time in so many ways -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And it was so interesting, Pamela and Judy. When I think about the way he not only changed the way people in the United States watch the news, but people all over the world.

A little while ago, I was talking about my trip in 2010 to North Korea with Bill Richardson, the then-governor of New Mexico. And at one point, he was meeting with the North Korean foreign minister, and I was inside with my camera crew and we were taking pictures shooting that meeting.

And, at one point, the foreign minister of North Korea looks out, he sees me. And remember that they could watch CNN in North Korea because Ted Turner had brought a cable, a satellite dish, so that people in North Korea could watch CNN.

[11:35:13]

He sees me and he says: "Mr. Wolf, Mr. Wolf, come here."

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: And he knew who I was, which I was so impressed.

And he said: "Mr. Wolf." And then he said this, and it's all on camera. He said: "You are as powerful as the president of the United States."

And I said to him: "Foreign Minister, with all due respect, I am not as powerful as the president of the United States."

And then he said: "You are as powerful as the president of the United States. You have 'SITUATION ROOM' and he has Situation Room."

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: "And only you too have SITUATION ROOM. You are as powerful as the president of the United" -- he was watching "THE SITUATION ROOM."

And it was just a moment that I will never forget. And I credit Ted Turner for bringing that satellite dish to North Korea and for showing the world what CNN was broadcasting. And it was just a moment that underscored the power of CNN.

It was just a really inspiring moment. I laugh about it, but it was an inspiring moment.

WOODRUFF: He didn't want any part of the world to be dark. He wanted news, he wanted transparency everywhere.

Of course, we know to -- that's not possible. There are countries that don't let the news be aired or be discussed. North Korea is certainly right at the top of the list. But, of course, they're in so many other countries.

And Ted was always fighting that fight. And I think his generosity toward the United Nations, which you all have also talked about this morning, speaks to that. He wanted -- he believed that problems couldn't be solved unless the world was open, unless there was this kind of transparency.

And that story that you just shared from North Korea is emblematic of that.

BLITZER: Yes, it was just a powerful moment. I laughed, but, as I said, it was just inspiring, knowing what Ted Turner had done in making -- trying to make sure that people, not just in the U.S., but all over the world, were watching CNN.

Let's take a quick break, resume our special coverage. Ted Turner, sadly, has passed away.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:42:05]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BROWN: All right, as we honor the legacy of CNN founder Ted Turner, who just passed away at the age of 87, I want to bring in former CNN newsgathering president Eason Jordan.

Eason, you had quite a run here at CNN. You were here during the early days, during the Gulf War, which Ted Turner has talked about as really putting CNN on the map globally.

If you would, take us back to that time when you were working so closely with Ted as CNN was covering Operation Desert Storm.

EASON JORDAN, FORMER CNN NEWSGATHERING PRESIDENT: Well, Pamela, thank you.

And my condolences go out to Ted's family and all of his friends.

It was a rough-and-tumble time in the early days at CNN, even before the Gulf War. A number of us were making a minimum wage of $3.25 an hour, but Ted had grand ambitions. And they were helped by, of all people, Fidel Castro, who suggested to Ted Turner that Ted take CNN from a U.S. distribution network to a global distribution network. And that's why, because of that Fidel Castro suggestion, that CNN

became a global network so early on in the process. But Ted was intimately involved in those early days and even lived in his office above the CNN newsroom and would come through the newsroom every morning at 4:00 to fetch coffee.

But he was intimately involved in Gulf War coverage and everything else and was just vital to our success.

BROWN: And tell us a little bit more about that, because this was very risky for CNN correspondents and those who worked for CNN during the war.

But Ted really, really held by the principle the news comes first and we have to do whatever we have to do to make sure that happens. Tell us more about that.

JORDAN: Well, Ted felt very strongly that CNN had to be there, wherever there might be, in the old Soviet Union or in China or North Korea, wherever he might be. And he wanted to make sure that the world could see CNN.

And so when I heard Judy -- or Wolf, rather, talking about going to North Korea and North Koreans were watching CNN, that was a satellite dish that I gave to North Korea, at Ted Turner's request. And we did that in Vietnam. We gave the first satellite dish to Chinese state television, at Ted Turner's request.

And so he was very bullish on global distribution for CNN and being a bridge-builder and doing it in a way that was positive and uplifting and absent of vitriol.

BROWN: As you reflect on his legacy, what more do you want our viewers to know about Ted Turner that perhaps they didn't already know?

JORDAN: He was just the best person at heart. Yes, he was outrageous and could really be quite provocative at times.

[11:45:00]

And one little story about that. I was with him when he met Vladimir Putin in the year 2000. We were the first Americans, Ted and I, to meet with Putin after he was first inaugurated as president in the year 2000. And talking about being provocative, Ted Turner's request to Vladimir Putin was that Vladimir Putin sell Ted a nuclear weapon.

Putin, taken aback in his Kremlin office, said: "Ted, why would I want to sell you a nuclear weapon?"

And he said: "Because I need a nuclear weapon to blackmail the rest of the world into nuclear disarmament."

Putin then showed us the door. The meeting was over. But it was typical of Ted's provocative nature and do-gooder ways. I mean, he really wanted to rid the world of nuclear weapons, and that was his sort of halfhearted, humorous way of doing so.

BROWN: Yes.

We're showing video right now of Ted Turner meeting with Vladimir Putin. He met with leaders all over the world to create that bridge, as you talked about.

Eason, thank you so much for coming on to share some of those stories -- Wolf.

JORDAN: Thank you.

BLITZER: And Eason played such an important role in generating that kind of international viewership for CNN, which was so important, and certainly indeed and very often helped make the world a little bit better in the process.

Eason, on behalf of all of us, thank you very, very much for all you did.

Right now, I want to bring in somebody else who really helped CNN over many, many years, the former CNN executive vice president, Rick Davis, who's also a good friend. We worked very, very closely over the years.

Rick, give us your thoughts as you heard a little while ago on the passing of Ted Turner.

RICK DAVIS, FORMER CNN EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you. Thank you, Wolf.

Like Eason, I want to express our sympathy to the Turner family for the gift that they gave us, Ted Turner. I mean, right now, the CNN family, and particularly those of us who were there at the beginning, we have great sorrow, but we have great gratitude as well because of Ted's vision and what CNN has become, what TCM has become, TBS, TNT.

All of it has brought together so many people to become part of the Turner family. We all had great careers, and our children and grandchildren owe a lot to Ted because of that.

I have a lot of thoughts about what he's done as an innovator for the news business. One of the things I don't think has been mentioned yet was the Goodwill Games in 1986, which continued every four years.

And this was -- this is what made Ted so unique. In 1980, Jimmy Carter boycotted the 1980 Olympics in Moscow because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In 1984, the Soviets and the Soviet Bloc retaliated against the United States for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

Ted decided that he had had enough of that, and he created the Goodwill Games to bring together the world, both the free world and the Soviet Bloc, in the Goodwill Games in 1986 in Moscow, where I worked on behalf of CNN.

And it showed that not only was he a sports mogul, a media mogul, but it was the first real act by Ted to show that he really was interested in world peace. I mean, we're all interested in world peace, but he was someone who did something about it. That was one of the first ones.

Then, of course, as Eason mentioned, his passion for nuclear disarmament, global threat initiative. When you think about his entree into becoming one of the great environmentalists and philanthropists, across the board, there are very few people who have that wide berth of experience like Ted to make an impact in so many areas of the world.

And so, of course, we're talking on CNN today about his impact on the news business and the hundreds of news networks that have copied CNN's model. But, to me, the great impact of Ted Turner's life is the legacy he leaves in sports, entertainment, world peace, and so many other areas that we can look to him as a shining example of how we should be a better person and can make a difference.

[11:50:15]

BLITZER: And you're absolutely right. And it's important to remember it wasn't just news that he was so passionate about. It was sports as well.

I remember, of course, over the years, he bought the Atlanta Braves, the baseball team, did amazing work there. And for many years, the NBA on TNT, his other network, was just such a powerful moment, especially for those of us, Rick, like you and me, who love basketball, baseball, football.

Everything he was involved in, whether the news, the sports, the entertainment, he did with a passion, with an excitement, and was so, so successful. And we're grateful to him.

You want to give me a thought on that?

DAVIS: Well, I think that one other aspect of Ted that we all can smile about on this very sad day is, he was just so damn funny. I mean, he could make us -- he could make a room just roar with some of the comments that he made.

Some of them were, eh, a little bit inappropriate, but some of it, it was just because he was a visionary. And he was -- as a sailor, he would look up in the sky and see which way the wind was blowing. And I think that's the way he led his life. And we all benefited from it.

I just want to tell one story that he told us, a small group. Tom Johnson would have lunches organized with Ted when Ted was in Atlanta over the last couple of years. He -- we got him to tell us story about he flew into St. Petersburg with a group of executives bringing them as guests to when St. Petersburg was hosting the Goodwill Games.

He got in the car by the -- by a political official who -- named Vladimir Putin, the deputy mayor of St. Petersburg, who greeted him and said: "I'm going to be your escort, Mr. Turner."

And he drove -- he had his driver drive Ted into the city and said: "We're going to have a -- we're going to drop you off at the hotel and then I'm going to take you out to dinner."

Somehow, they got word that Putin's wife was in a car accident. And Ted is telling us this story. And she was rushed to the hospital. And Ted said: "Where are we going?"

He said: "Well, I'm taking you to the hotel. My boss, the mayor of St. Petersburg, said I'm supposed to stay with you, take you to the hotel and then take you to dinner."

And said: "No, we're not. You're going to the hospital and we will find our way to the hotel."

And he told Vladimir Putin what to do at that moment. And that's what they ended up doing.

I mean, he was a man of all seasons, and we all benefited from it. And it's a sad day, but I smile when I think of all the really funny things that Ted did to make us laugh when we needed one.

BLITZER: He made the world a better place, indeed.

Rick Davis, thank you very much. Appreciate it very, very much.

I want to continue the conversation right now with CNN presidential historian Tim Naftali.

Tim, President George H.W. Bush was widely quoted during the first Gulf War as saying: "I learn more from CNN than I do from the CIA" -- end quote.

Just how significant has Ted Turner's contribution to history, how significant has that been?

TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, Ted Turner was a larger-than-life figure who thought globally.

And to paint a picture for you, Wolf -- and my condolences, personal condolences, to you and those who worked with Mr. Turner -- paint a picture of the start of Operation Desert Storm, the operation to liberate Kuwait, which was occupied by Saddam Hussein's Iraqi army.

George Bush, Barbara Bush and Billy Graham were watching CNN to watch the start of the war. Not too far away, General Colin Powell was at the Pentagon watching CNN to watch the beginning of the war. In fact, Colin Powell wrote later in his memoirs that he was watching Bernard Shaw, Peter Arnett, and John Holliman like current-day Edward R. Murrows. CNN was not just broadcasting to the regular public, us.

[11:55:03]

It was sending information to keep world leaders apprised of what was going on. Indeed, in 1993, after the Iraqis tried to kill former President George H.W. Bush when he visited Kuwait, Bill Clinton sent a missile, missiles against the Iraqi intelligence headquarters in Baghdad. CNN had pulled its team out of Baghdad at that point. The U.S. spy

satellite wasn't anywhere near Iraq. And so the White House contacted CNN, Tom Johnson, who contacted our people or CNN's people in Amman, Jordan, who called acquaintances or friends in Baghdad.

And the first news that Bill Clinton got that the retaliatory strike against the Iraqi intelligence for attempting to kill our president, former president, that first news came via CNN.

I think what's important for our viewers today in remembering Mr. Turner is not just to think of this as an American story. I cannot imagine 1989 being the way it turned out if it weren't for the fact that the people striving for freedom in Eastern Europe could watch what their colleagues and allies were doing in other countries.

The changes in the late '80s and the early '90s were brought to everybody by CNN. This was before the Internet. Now there are so many platforms to get in from international news. CNN was really it in the late '80s and early '90s. And it's because of Ted Turner's global vision.

I'm not suggesting that CNN ended the Cold War, but I don't doubt that it helped.

BLITZER: Yes, I have no doubt either, especially when I went to the then-Soviet Union, and some of the top Soviet leaders were telling me and my viewers around the world how significant CNN's coverage was in bringing down what was then the Soviet Union.

Tim Naftali, thanks very much. Always appreciate having you join us -- Pamela.

BROWN: And, Wolf, as you know, condolences have been pouring in this morning, and as we remember CNN founder Ted Turner, who died this morning at the age of 87.

BLITZER: Ted was a media maverick, a philanthropist and a pioneer of cable TV news.

Here's how he's being remembered by the people who knew him best, as they have shared with us these last couple of hours. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM JOHNSON, FORMER CNN PRESIDENT: I'm very saddened by it. I mean, Ted had become not just my -- I guess my leader, my chief executive, to whom I have reported directly for 11 years, but became really my very, very close personal friend.

And I have to say, and you don't use this expression too often, I guess, men to men, but I truly loved the guy.

WALTER ISAACSON, FORMER CNN CHAIRMAN AND CEO: I have studied innovators my whole life, but one of the greatest of all innovators was Ted, and it was partly because he was fearless. He would try any new idea. He led us into the era of new forms of

communication. But when it came to covering things, he knew CNN was built to be a fearless network.

WOODRUFF: He changed the news business.

I mean, I would go so far, Wolf, as to say he transformed the news business, because, when cable came along, we hadn't had -- as everybody here now knows, cable didn't exist before CNN. We didn't have 24/7 news. We didn't have international news.

And Ted made that happen. It was his dream for the longest time. You all have been discussing it. He was determined. And, Wolf, I mean, what people were calling CNN in those early days, Chicken Noodle News, there's no way he's going to turn this fledgling operation into something significant, and he proved all the critics wrong.

I mean, he was the one who literally made it happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: He certainly did. He was a really brilliant, wonderful man.

And finally this hour, today, as we remember Ted Turner and his undisputed impact on the country and indeed the world, I want to emphasize how extraordinary he was as a person.

He was devoted to journalism, real journalism, and that didn't change when he no longer owned CNN. He often called CNN his greatest accomplishment. I was able to visit with Ted many times over the years, especially at his Montana ranch.

He said his father, who was so tough on him, but Ted adored him, taught him to always dream big. Here is Ted Turner in his own words.

And from all of us here in THE SITUATION ROOM, our deepest, deepest condolences to his family. And, as we say, may his memory be a blessing.

[12:00:08]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TED TURNER, CNN FOUNDER: He said: "Set your goals so high that you can't achieve them in your lifetime." I don't know how to quit. It's not in my genes.

I worked until 7:00, and, when I got home, the news was over. So I missed television news completely. And I figured there were lots of people like me.

It was more than just a company to me. It was a way of life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)