CNN founder and media mogul Ted Turner passes away at 87

Media mogul and CNN founder Ted Turner passed away on Friday at the age of 87. A pioneer when it came to cable TV news, Turner had also dabbled in the world of entertainment with his popular wrestling promotion, World Championship Wrestling (WCW). A CNN report states that Turner passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family.

"Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless, and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgement," 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."

Tributes for the media mogul have been coming in from those in American politics as well. President Donald Trump paid his respects to Turner in a Truth Social post, in which he called him "one of the Greats of All Time." He said that the former CNN boss was "devastated" after the "new ownership" of CNN made it "woke." "Regardless, however, one of the Greats of Broadcast History, and a friend of mine. Whenever I needed him, he was there, always willing to fight for a good cause!" Trump said.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis credited Turner for having "a big effect on a lot of kids in the 80s and 90s," with WCW and Braves baseball. Before founding CNN, Turner had criticized broadcast TV and establishment news. Today, he has the respect of almost everyone in the field. "He was one of us," former CNN president Tom Johnson recalled. "He would be in his housecoat, down having breakfast in the Hard News Café (the company’s cafeteria)."