Ted Turner has died • Hacker News Board

Re: Ted Turner has died

#11

Post by ap99 » Wed, May 06, 2026, 4:06 PM UTC

ranger_danger wrote: post #5

JSR_FDED wrote: post #3

I remember CNN bursting onto the scene. It was revolutionary. Although there was never (even today) enough news to fill a 24hr period. Just endless repeats of the same block of news.

I think there absolutely would be enough if they also covered international stories as well as happier news. There's a whole lot more good going on in the world right now than bad, but for some reason we do not highlight it.

"For some reason" is that people do not watch it.

Once you get a taste of "bad" it dominates.

Re: Ted Turner has died

#12

Post by antonchekhov » Wed, May 06, 2026, 4:09 PM UTC

dylan604 wrote: post #6

thrownaway561 wrote: post #4

cnn email alert was how I learned that 9/11 was happening. love or hate the man and the news outlet, but you have to admit that they ushered in the news era of the internet.

CNN was how we watched Desert Storm in '91

Nowadays, almost any news org can have journalists reporting from across the planet in real-time. But back before internet connectivity was ubuquitous, StarLink satellites, smartphones and streaming video everywhere, CNN had a few reporters who had the then-very-rare satellite phones (I think they were almost small-backpack sized) who could report from Iraq on-site during Desert Storm, and it was revolutionary. CNN's ratings went through the roof during that war, and after the war was over, it was reported they raised their ad rates over 1000%, because they had this new giant audience. It really felt like a transformation of public news media.

Re: Ted Turner has died

#13

Post by Ylpertnodi » Wed, May 06, 2026, 4:09 PM UTC

ranger_danger wrote: post #5

JSR_FDED wrote: post #3

I remember CNN bursting onto the scene. It was revolutionary. Although there was never (even today) enough news to fill a 24hr period. Just endless repeats of the same block of news.

I think there absolutely would be enough if they also covered international stories as well as happier news. There's a whole lot more good going on in the world right now than bad, but for some reason we do not highlight it.

'Good going on', rarely affects my wallet.

Re: Ted Turner has died

#14

Post by dhosek » Wed, May 06, 2026, 4:10 PM UTC

He’s been pretty quiet in the news for a while so he sort of fell into the category of those famous people who when they died, half your response is a bit of surprise that they were still alive (which is neither a good nor bad thing, just a thing¹).

⸻

1. I once had an idea for a party game which involved people trying to guess whether a formerly prominent person was alive or dead.

Re: Ted Turner has died

#15

Post by xattt » Wed, May 06, 2026, 4:12 PM UTC

JSR_FDED wrote: post #3

I remember CNN bursting onto the scene. It was revolutionary. Although there was never (even today) enough news to fill a 24hr period. Just endless repeats of the same block of news.

Of all the fascinating things that I’ve seen, there was a Moscow TV station rebroadcasting CNN during the Gulf War.

My memory is hazy, and I accepted it as-is at the time, but the idea that American news could be watched live shortly before the fall of the Soviet Union seems entirely wild.

Re: Ted Turner has died

#16

Post by misterboo72 » Wed, May 06, 2026, 4:17 PM UTC

As a film fan I remember all of the outrage over his plan to colorize classic films. He was also a critic of the film "Taxi Driver" and complained about the film's values.

He was everywhere in the late 70s and early 80s. WTCG -- The Super Station.

Re: Ted Turner has died

#17

Post by simmons » Wed, May 06, 2026, 4:18 PM UTC

vikingerik wrote: post #8

The Onion headline should be: Ted Turner dies at 87:05

Ah, that took a second to get. If anyone is stumped, it's a reference to Turner Time [1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TBS_(American_TV_channel)#Turn...

Re: Ted Turner has died

#18

Post by SkyeCA » Wed, May 06, 2026, 4:19 PM UTC

Ylpertnodi wrote: post #13

ranger_danger wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there absolutely would be enough if they also covered international stories as well as happier news. There's a whole lot more good going on in the world right now than bad, but for some reason we do not highlight it.

'Good going on', rarely affects my wallet.

And most of the "bad going on" is completely out of your control. People could do with consuming a lot less national/international news.

Re: Ted Turner has died

#19

Post by tren_hard » Wed, May 06, 2026, 4:21 PM UTC

> In 2010, Turner joined Warren Buffett's and Bill Gates's The Giving Pledge, vowing to donate the majority of his fortune to charity upon his death.

Does The Giving Pledge still exist? Will this happen?

Re: Ted Turner has died

#20

Post by christoff12 » Wed, May 06, 2026, 4:22 PM UTC

dhosek wrote: post #14

He’s been pretty quiet in the news for a while so he sort of fell into the category of those famous people who when they died, half your response is a bit of surprise that they were still alive (which is neither a good nor bad thing, just a thing¹). ⸻ 1. I once had an idea for a party game which involved people trying to guess whether a formerly prominent person was alive or dead.

I'd play that game