The life and legacy of CNN founder Ted Turner | May 7, 2026

0:11 What's up, sunshine?

0:12 Happy Friday eve.

0:13 I'm Coy Wire here with your 10 minutes of news for this Thursday,

0:16 May the 7th, of National Teacher Appreciation Week.

0:19 Have you bought an apple, a flower,

0:21 or a card for that special mentor in your life?

0:23 If not, you have one more day.

0:25 Let's level up our knowledge, stretch our perspective,

0:28 and just maybe be a little better today than yesterday.

0:30 Now, we do start with some somber news here at CNN World Headquarters.

0:35 Ted Turner, the OG media maverick and founder of CNN,

0:39 passed away Wednesday at the age of 87.

0:41 Turner didn't just build a network.

0:43 He flipped the script on how the world gets its news.

0:46 He launched CNN back in 1980,

0:49 just steps from where we are standing right now on one bold idea.

0:53 news shouldn't wait.

0:55 He wanted it live.

0:56 He wanted it constant and global.

0:58 So, he created the first ever 24-hour news network.

1:02 And fun fact, CNN 10 was originally his idea.

1:06 He wanted a not-for-profit news show designed to bring

1:09 the world straight into classrooms without the divisiveness of modern politics.

1:14 Nicknamed the mouth of the south, Turner was as outspoken as he was a visionary,

1:18 leaving behind a legacy of philanthropy, activism,

1:22 and a mission to make the world smarter and better informed.

1:25 Our Christian Amen looks back at the man who changed media forever.

1:30 I dedicate the news channel for America.

1:35 Ted Turner, the man who changed the world by creating CNN in 1980.

1:40 It was the first ondemand global television news channel.

1:45 Were you trying to create a revolution with 24/7 news

1:49 or were you just trying to find another brilliant business opportunity?

1:54 I thought it through very carefully.

1:56 That's what I I did.

1:58 I studied the situation and I knew what I was doing.

2:02 At least I felt like I knew what I was doing and it turned out that I did.

2:07 But Ted Turner's accomplishments have an even

2:10 wider reach than the global network he built.

2:12 A lifetime of work that put him ahead of the curve with every chance he took.

2:18 Ted Turner,

2:19 a true Renaissance man, Ted Turner defied labels.

2:23 Yes, he became a billionaire businessman,

2:25 but he was also a philanthropist, a conservationist, a sports champion.

2:30 Aren't they cool?

2:32 I never get tired of them.

2:34 and an optimist, as he told me when I visited him on his Montana ranch in 2015,

2:40 surrounded by his beloved bison,

2:42 a species he had nearly single-handedly

2:44 brought back from the brink of extinction.

2:48 Remember, I'm supposed to be shooting for something

2:51 that's impossible to have happen in my lifetime.

2:54 And he had the mightest touch every time he dreamed the impossible dream.

3:00 In 1997, he donated a billion dollars to help

3:03 support the United Nations by creating the United Nations Foundation.

3:08 It was a jaw-dropping gift that stunned the world.

3:11 But like many of Turner's endeavors, it made perfect sense to him.

3:15 As of January of December 31st, I was worth 2.2 billion.

3:20 And and I looked at it that morning real quick because I

3:22 don't have a lot of time to look at my own statement.

3:24 And I was up to 3.2 because the stock went up so much during the year.

3:27 So I made it nine months.

3:28 I'm only giving up 9 months earnings.

3:30 It's not that big a deal.

3:31 I'm no poorer than I was 9 months ago and the world is a lot better off.

3:36 He avidly fought for the eradication of nuclear weapons.

3:39 In 2001, he co-founded the nuclear threat initiative,

3:43 an organization that has worked to corral loose nukes and aims

3:47 to reduce the weapons of mass destruction in the world.

3:50 He was a man who pushed boundaries.

3:52 He met with dictators like Fidel Castro.

3:55 He founded the Goodwill Games,

3:57 which helped to ease tensions between the US

4:00 and the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War.

4:03 The skies over Baghdad have been illuminated.

4:06 He insisted CNN must be behind enemy lines in Baghdad

4:10 to report that side of the first Gulf War,

4:13 cementing the network as the global leader in breaking news.

4:18 Before spearheading the media revolution,

4:21 Ted Turner was a champion sailor, winning the prestigious America's Cup.

4:26 Later, he bought his adopted hometown baseball team,

4:29 the Atlanta Braves, and its basketball team, the Atlanta Hawks.

4:34 A career that wasn't linear, but radiated in so many different directions.

4:39 A one-of-a-kind true visionary.

4:45 Pop quiz hot shot.

4:46 What is the official state nickname of Colorado?

4:48 Mile High State, Centennial State, Rocky State, or Grizzly State.

4:59 If you say Centennial, you get 100.

5:02 Colorado became the 38th US state on August 1st, 1876,

5:06 nearly 100 years to the day after the signing

5:09 of the Declaration of Independence, August 2nd, 1776.

5:15 All right, summer is knocking on the door, but in Colorado,

5:18 winter said, "I'm not done yet." Thanks to a late season snowstorm.

5:22 Parts of the Centennial State have seen nearly 2 feet of snow.

5:26 Late season storms like this are not too common.

5:29 It was 75° in Denver just a few days ago.

5:32 Talk about weather whiplash.

5:34 It's May.

5:35 I'm like, "No way.

5:36 It's May and it's snowing right now."

5:38 But folks aren't letting this fluky forecast flumx them.

5:41 High school sports concerts at Red Rocks

5:44 Amphitheater have all gone on as planned.

5:47 And while it makes for a surreal scene,

5:49 this weather's snow joke, spurring hazardous conditions on major roadways.

5:54 Widespread power outages are a concern because

5:56 heavy wet snow can weigh down trees,

5:59 especially those that are already in bloom and full of leaves.

6:02 As AI, artificial intelligence, keeps leveling up,

6:06 Hollywood is asking a big question.

6:07 What actually counts as human creativity?

6:11 After months of pressure and petitions from actors and industry officials,

6:15 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

6:18 has voted to update its Oscars rules,

6:21 trying to define how much AI is too much when it comes to awardw worthy work.

6:26 Our Claire Duffy reports.

6:28 Yes, the Academy for the first time updating its

6:31 rules to address artificial intelligence as we are seeing more

6:34 and more people in and around Hollywood experimenting with how

6:37 AI can be used in films and other types of storytelling.

6:41 Interestingly, according to this rules update, the Academy says that the use

6:45 of generative artificial intelligence will neither help

6:48 nor harm the chances of a filch achieving a nomination for a film.

6:52 But there are two exceptions to that and I'll read those to you.

6:55 In the acting category, only roles demonstrably performed by humans

6:59 with their consent will be considered eligible.

7:02 And in the writing categories,

7:04 the rules say that screenplays must be human authored in order to be eligible.

7:09 Now, this would seem to imply that an AI actor like Tilly Norwood,

7:13 who we've talked a lot about, would not be eligible for an Oscar.

7:17 But I do think there are increasingly going to be edge

7:19 cases that the Academy is going to have to grapple with.

7:22 For example, the forthcoming film with the AI

7:25 replica of Val Kilmer playing a role.

7:27 Val Kilmer did sign on to participate in that film prior to his death,

7:32 but the role is being played by an AI recreation of him.

7:35 How would the Academy consider that?

7:37 I've also spoken with screenwriters who have said they use

7:39 AI as a sort of writing partner to bounce around ideas.

7:43 Where exactly do you draw the line between what is

7:45 written by a human and what is contributed by AI?

7:48 I do imagine that we will see these rules evolve over time.

7:51 But in many ways, I think this is

7:52 a symbolic move by the academy to underscore the importance

7:57 of human creativity in this moment when we are

7:59 seeing AI move into all areas of our lives.

8:02 Back to you.

8:08 Today's story getting a 10 out of 10.

8:10 A proposal 14 years in the making.

8:13 Avant Williams, a junior at Lacrosse Central High School in Wisconsin.

8:17 knew since he was a toddler that his prom date one day would be his grandma.

8:22 His grandmother, Spala Heler,

8:24 never got to experience this core high school memory.

8:27 A little girl growing up in Iceland,

8:29 she'd only ever seen it by watching American TV shows.

8:32 And she dreamed of going one day.

8:34 Now an ocean away.

8:36 And decades later, her dream came true.

8:38 Since I was like a little kid,

8:40 my grandma's been telling me she wanted to go to prom.

8:41 It's her dream.

8:43 And then today, I just feel like I should make that come true.

8:45 I'm just taking every every inch in and just enjoying every moment.

8:51 The two arrived alongside William's best friend,

8:53 making this prom night anything but traditional.

8:56 All right, let's bring it home.

8:58 In honor of National Teacher Appreciation Week,

9:00 we are sharing some of the messages you have sent us about the educators,

9:04 coaches, parapros, and others who make this world

9:06 a bit of a better place for you.

9:08 First up, Mrs.

9:09 Moon at Warm Springs Middle School in Marietta, California.

9:13 Your students wrote, "Mrs.

9:14 Moon is known for advocating for every single student on our campus.

9:18 You will always find her classroom filled with both her own students and other

9:22 peers who know that room 617 is a safe space where everybody belongs.

9:27 That is love.

9:28 And listen to this.

9:29 A parapro at Lincoln Middle School in Rockford, Illinois, shouting out Mr.

9:34 Black, saying this is his first year of teaching

9:36 and he has already made a meaningful impact on his students.

9:40 One of the ways he connects with students is by incorporating their interests,

9:44 especially football, into lessons, such as using sports examples in math.

9:48 Way to go, Mr.

9:49 Black.

9:50 Our last shout out of the day goes to Mrs.

9:53 Benry Peralta at Raphael Hernando Middle School in El Paso, Texas.

9:58 One of your 14-year-old students writes,

9:59 "She is not just a teacher, but a lifecher.

10:02 She teaches us to be proud of ourselves regardless of what life has dealt us.

10:06 Her praise and confidence in us pushes us to strive for greatness.

10:10 That is what it's all about.

10:12 We all should be grateful for the teachers, mentors in our lives.

10:15 We've we've achieved nothing in and of ourselves.

10:17 If we think we have, we're foolish.

10:19 We're nothing more than conduits of knowledge and energy.

10:21 And what we have is not for us to possess, it's for us to pass on.

10:25 Write a note, pick a flower,

10:27 simply throw up some heart hands for a teacher today.

10:29 And I will see you right back here tomorrow.

10:31 I'm Ky Wire and we are CNN 10.