Ted Turner, the television innovator who founded CNN, the first 24-hour cable news channel, and built a vast media empire that reshaped American broadcasting, has died at 87.
Mr. Turner's career and larger-than-life personality drew comparisons to William Randolph Hearst, the media baron immortalized in Orson Welles's 1941 film "Citizen Kane." Like Hearst, Mr. Turner dominated the media landscape and captured public attention with his bold business ventures and colorful personal life.
But where Hearst is now primarily remembered through Welles's cinematic portrayal, Mr. Turner is likely to be remembered as one of television's great innovators who fundamentally changed how Americans consumed news and entertainment.
