Media Moguls with Web Barr

The Ted Turner Saga | Part 10: Cable's Cowboy Expands

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In the wake of his MGM gamble and cable bailout, Ted Turner was not just fighting to survive. He was building.

As CNN cemented its global authority covering the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the Gulf War in Iraq, Turner used MGM’s massive film library as fuel for expansion. Out of that library came TNT, Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies, and more, transforming Turner Broadcasting into a cable powerhouse.

But bold moves brought controversy, including the battles over film colorization and growing tension with his own partners. This episode is about survival, reinvention, and how Ted turned crisis into a media empire.


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Credits

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).


Chapters

  • (00:00): Bailout!
  • (1:00:48): TNT
  • (1:28:00): Colorization
  • (1:45:00): Time Warner
  • (1:56:00): CNN Rises
  • (2:10:45): CNN in Iraq
  • (2:45:00): Fall of USSR
  • (2:55:00): Cartoon Network
  • (3:05:00): Grow or Die

    • Sources

    Books used in Episode 10. 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
    • ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠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
    • ⁠⁠Three Blind Mice⁠
    • ⁠Born to Be Wired

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      Media Moguls with Web BarrBy Hi Barr