Ted Turner has regrets about CNN’s decline
Ted Turner, a.k.a. the “Mouth of the South,” has been pretty interesting today. Speaking on getting the business community more engaged on climate change, he said: Businessmen, first and foremost, are human beings. They’re fathers and grandfathers, too, like all the rest of us … Since we’re fathers and grandfathers first, we care about what ...
Ted Turner, a.k.a. the "Mouth of the South," has been pretty interesting today. Speaking on getting the business community more engaged on climate change, he said:
Ted Turner, a.k.a. the “Mouth of the South,” has been pretty interesting today. Speaking on getting the business community more engaged on climate change, he said:
Businessmen, first and foremost, are human beings. They’re fathers and grandfathers, too, like all the rest of us … Since we’re fathers and grandfathers first, we care about what happens to the world, particularly as it affects our families and our customers and everybody else. Businessmen are human beings, and that means they’re motivated by two different things, like all other people: fear and greed. And global climate change fits right in. It scares the livin’ daylights out of you, but it motivates you to do something about it. And that means go green. It’s going to be the biggest business opportunity that there’s ever been, because the whole world very rapidly is gonna have to move away from fossil fuels.
And here he is rapping about CNN, his creation that is now part of the Time Warner conglomerate, and the decline of news. Like other networks, CNN is no longer about substance, he said:
![]()
Ted Turner: CNN is guilty of it now. I made a big mistake letting it get away, but I didn’t intend to. I didn’t intend to, but I did. Because if there was just one company out there that at least tried to do it, but there are none of them. I don’t think any of ’em, of the major companies, are giving us the important news. And they’re not giving us the news about the war in Iraq, either. Watch the newscasts for a half an hour and see they won’t even mention how many people were killed yesterday. And they never show you a coffin; the government won’t let ’em film ’em, you know. We’re underinformed, and we’re letting it happen at our peril.
Moderator Daniel C. Esty: So, one of the interesting things is the Murdoch family seems to have taken this issue seriously, so we may see a Wall Street Journal with a new spin as soon as the new regime takes over.
Turner: And when I read that I sent Rupert a congratulatory letter [huge laughter]. I did, I mean, I did. [looks around mischievously]
More from Foreign Policy
At Long Last, the Foreign Service Gets the Netflix Treatment
Keri Russell gets Drexel furniture but no Senate confirmation hearing.
How Macron Is Blocking EU Strategy on Russia and China
As a strategic consensus emerges in Europe, France is in the way.
What the Bush-Obama China Memos Reveal
Newly declassified documents contain important lessons for U.S. China policy.
Russia’s Boom Business Goes Bust
Moscow’s arms exports have fallen to levels not seen since the Soviet Union’s collapse.
Sign up for World Brief
FP’s flagship evening newsletter guiding you through the most important world stories of the day. Delivered weekdays.
By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.
