Ted Turner Emerges From the Shadows
The world of news changed in 1980 when Ted Turner created the Cable News Network (CNN) to leave traditional media in the dust. CNN laid down the gauntlet for 24 hour cable news banality and without Turner’s work we may not have blowhards like Lou Dobbs, Keith Olbermann and Bill O’Reilly. While his past holdings include the Atlanta Hawks (one of the worst franchises in the NBA) and TBS (one of the worst cable stations around), CNN and 24 hour news is Turner’s legacy.
In a recent interview with Foreign Policy, Turner took a few minutes to show off his credentials as a philanthropist. Turner helped found the Goodwill Games and his significant donations to the United Nations have strengthened the institution’s place in the United States. Wait a minute, his work has NOT strengthened the United Nations in America. Turner’s efforts to change his image from a wild-eyed Southerner into a poor man’s Al Gore are clearly failing.
I would recommend checking out the interview on the Foreign Policy website to see Turner weave his web of generalities about climate change, the United Nations and the state of media. Mr. Turner is still bent that CNN has not killed newspapers, print publications and other forms of media. He also name-drops Jacques Cousteau in speaking about hope. I admire Turner in the sheer amount of money he is willing to donate to a good cause but the United Nations is the wrong apparatus for change. I think Turner should work with other billionaires to lead the push for a new international organization that is more responsive than the United Nations to deal with today’s global issues.
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