August 07, 2025

The Ted Turner Saga | Part 6: The Birth of CNN

4 hours 13 minutes

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.

More From Hi Barr

Email us: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠

Listen to Hi Barr’s ⁠⁠⁠You Had To Be There⁠⁠⁠ podcast!

For business inquiries, please email: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠

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): 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 Storm

Sources

Books 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

...more

View all episodes

By Hi Barr

August 07, 2025

The Ted Turner Saga | Part 6: The Birth of CNN

4 hours 13 minutes

More From Hi Barr

Email us: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠

Listen to Hi Barr’s ⁠⁠⁠You Had To Be There⁠⁠⁠ podcast!

For business inquiries, please email: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠

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): 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 Storm

Sources

Books 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

...more

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The Ted Turner Saga | Part 6: The Birth of CNN

The Ted Turner Saga | Part 6: The Birth of CNN