Media Moguls with Web Barr

The Ted Turner Saga | Part 11: Endgame

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After 10 episodes, nearly 30 hours of audio, and three years of work, the final chapter of Media Moguls: The Ted Turner Saga is here.

In the 1990s, the media world went big, and Ted Turner knew he had to keep up. Despite building CNN into a global force and launching TNT, Cartoon Network, and more, Turner Broadcasting was still too small for a rapidly consolidating industry.

After failed attempts to buy or merge with ABC, NBC, and CBS, Ted made the biggest move of his career: selling to Time Warner.

It worked… until it didn’t.

This episode breaks down the deals, the strategy, and the moment when the ultimate media outsider chose to join the establishment, and what it cost him.

From there, we follow what happened next, how it looked like a success, and how it slowly unraveled.


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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): Opening Monologue
  • (0:20:23): State of 90s Media
  • (0:41:00): Ted + ABC
  • (1:14:00): Ted + NBC
  • (1:30:00): Media MergerMania
  • (1:51:00): Ted Time Warner
  • (2:10:00): Fallout
  • (2:40:00): Ted vs. Murdoch
  • (3:05:00): Ted's Influence at TW
  • (3:26:00): AOL Time Warner

    • Sources

    Books used in Episode 11. 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
    • Fools Rush In: Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner
    • The Highwaymen (Auletta)
    • The Rise and Fall of WCW
    • Nitro

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      Media Moguls with Web BarrBy Hi Barr