This episode tells the story of how Ted Turner built and launched CNN, the world’s first 24-hour news network, in just 11 months. At a time when network news aired only 30 minutes a night, Turner saw a bigger opportunity. With news veteran Reese Schonfeld, he set out to build a nonstop news operation from Atlanta, using cable and satellites to take on the media establishment.
We'll explore how CNN went from a wild idea from a guy known for hating news to a professional operation running on a bare bones budget, despite industry doubts and early setbacks. You’ll hear how Ted pitched CNN, why incumbents like The Washington Post and Time Inc. passed, and how their scrappy team pulled it off. It was risky and chaotic, everything that could go wrong did, but in the end, they changed the world forever.
Follow us on X + Instagram + YouTube + Linkedin
Sign up for our newsletter
Email us: [email protected]
Listen to Hi Barr’s You Had To Be There podcast!
For business inquiries, please email: [email protected]
Writing, research, and production by Web Barr.
Artwork by Dylan Lathrop.
Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (https://thepodcastconsultant.com).
(00:00): Broadcasting Queen Elizabeth's Coronation
(08:30): Ted’s News Pitch
(20:00): Why News?
(25:30): Reese Schonfeld’s News Dream
(31:00): Network Dominance
(42:00): How Network News Worked
(48:00): Who Else Considered Cable News?
(57:00): Ted Pitches CNN to Reese
(1:18:00): Ted Pitches CNN to Cable
(1:27:00): Reese's News Format
(1:34:00): Daniel Schorr
(1:45:00): Desperate Negotiations
(1:51:00): Announcing CNN
(1:55:00): Visiting The Gray Lady
(2:00:00): Motivations & Risks
(2:05:00): CNN's River of News
(2:11:00): Creating the CNN Logo
(2:14:00): Funding CNN
(2:18:00): Hiring a Leadership Team
(2:24:00): News Gathering
(2:32:00): Groundbreaking Distribution
(2:40:00): CNN's Format
(2:43:00): Programming Strategies & Schedule
(2:46:00): First Ad Deal
(2:51:00): Trouble Selling Ads? Call Ted
(2:55:00): New HQ
(2:58:00): The Impossible Open Newsroom
(3:03:00): Fastnet Drowns CNN?
(3:06:00): MISSING! SATCOM III
(3:14:00): Ted Goes to 30 Rock
(3:26:00): Recruiting CNN’s Staff
(3:35:00): Inventing the VJ
(3:43:00): CNN College
(3:53:00): Predictions
(4:00:00): Last Minute Prep
(4:08:00): The Final StormBooks used in Episode 6. Get em here!
It Ain't As Easy As It Looks: Ted Turner's Amazing Story
Up All Night: Ted Turner, CNN, and the Birth of 24-Hour News
Ted Turner Speaks: Insights From the World's Greatest Maverick
CNN: The Inside Story: How a Band of Mavericks Changed the Face of Television News
Confessions of an Advertising Man
Lead Follow or Get Out of the Way: The Story of Ted Turner
Media Man: Ted Turner's Improbable Empire
Clash of the Titans: How the Unbridled Ambition of Ted Turner and Rupert Murdoch Has Created Global Empires that Control What We Read & Watch Each Day
Call Me Ted
Cable Cowboy: John Malone and the rise of the modern cable-TV business
Me and Ted Against the World: The Unauthorized Story of the Founding of CNN
Tinderbox: HBO's Ruthless Pursuit of New Frontiers
Masters of Enterprise: Giants of American Business from John Jacob Astor and J.P. Morgan to Bill Gates and Oprah Winfrey
Staying Tuned: A Life in Journalism (Daniel Schorr)
Going There (Katie Couric's Memoir)
Atomic Habits (James Clear)
Paul Krugman on the Internet (1998)
Ace Greenberg's PSD Memo (1981)
Nike's Breaking2
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
