THE CZECH IS IN THE MAIL
What do think of when the name Ted Turner comes to mind?
For some, it might be Headline News or the Cable News Network — CNN. For others, it’s the Atlanta Braves baseball club.
For me, my initial thought is World Championship Wrestling.
Turner once owned all of these entities.
On Wednesday, Turner died at the age of 87. He accomplished more than most on the journey from the cradle to the grave.
After starting in the billboard business, Turner bought an Atlanta television station in 1970, which became the Turner Broadcasting System. The station aired nationwide through cable television providers.
Turner also became a pioneer in news coverage. He introduced the world to CNN and Headline News in 1980, which became the first station to air a 24-hour news cycle.
Turner also launched other popular cable channels such as Turner Network Television or TNT, the Cartoon Network and Turner Classic Movies, to name a few. He also owned the Braves, the team that won the World Series in 1995, and the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks for a brief period.
My favorite Turner venture took place in 1988. He purchased a wrestling promotion, which was later named World Championship Wrestling.
Turner helped wrestlers such as Richard Fliehr (Ric Flair), Steven Borden (Sting) and Lenny Pfiel (Lex Luger) reach international stardom. He also helped WCW win the ratings war against Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation — now World Wrestling Entertainment — in the mid-1990s.
Ironically, former WWF/E superstars Terry Bollea (Hulk Hogan), Randy Poffo (Randy Savage), Scott Hall and Kevin Nash helped WCW in the ratings wars from 1996-98. That quartet formed the New World Order faction, which became one of the biggest heel — or “bad guy” — groups in wrestling history.
Sadly, WCW was ultimately bought out by McMahon and WWF/E. Meanwhile, Turner broadcasting merged with Time Warner in 1996.
In the 1990s, Turner became critical of religion, particularly Christianity. But in a 2013 interview with the Christian Broadcast Network, he said he prayed for a friend who had cancer.
My prayer is that Turner found Jesus before his death. While being the originator of the 24-hour news cycle and the owner of professional sports franchises and a wrestling organization is impressive, none of that holds a candle to being a follower of Jesus in my opinion.
While the Good Lord is the only one who knows where Turner will spend life after death, the world did lose a media icon this past week. Turner truly was a media pioneer.
Chlapek is the area editor of the Taylor Press and Elgin Courier. He can be reached at jason.chlapek@granite mediapartners.com.
