Ted Turner’s dedication to world peace and saving the earth as critical now as ever

Ted Turner is turning 86 on Nov. 19, and a party was held at the Atlanta History Center exactly one week before his big day. 

On a big video screen in the auditorium, Turner was beamed in from his downtown Atlanta residence flanked by his daughters, Laura Turner Seydel and Jennie Turner Garlington, along with his son-in-law Rutherford Seydel.

The occasion? 

A preview of the six-episode documentary, “Call Me Ted,” released Nov. 13 on MAX by filmmakers Joni Levin and Keith Clarke. The documentary provides a sweeping and in-depth look at a complex man who transformed Atlanta, the United States and the world.

“It was a reunion,” said Pat Mitchell, who worked with Turner and Turner Broadcasting’s CNN in the 1990s and later became the first woman president and CEO of PBS. “Ted believed media could be a force for good. Everyone who worked at CNN believed we could make programming that could make a difference. Ted would say, “I don’t care if they get ratings. I only care if they make a difference.””

Turner, who suffers from Lewy Body Dementia, has had an altruistic vision towards the world throughout his life. 

Achieving global peace. Saving the Planet Earth. Connecting the world through telecommunications and CNN. Getting rid of nuclear weapons. Uniting the world through sports. No challenge has been too big for Turner.

What a juxtaposition to the world we’re facing today.

I had the privilege of following and writing about Turner, starting in the 1980s to the present day. Watching the documentary brought up memories and conflicting emotions of then and now. Turner had an altruistic vision towards the world throughout his career — a stark contrast to many leaders of today.

To help gain perspective, I reached out to several people who worked closely with Turner over the years to get their perspectives.

“Ted was willing to meet and listen to adversaries — not to disagree, but to try to find common ground,” said Taylor Glover, a friend and colleague of Turner’s dating back to 1978 and the CEO of Turner Enterprises since 2002. “It was a different mindset.”

One example was Turner’s controversial trip to Cuba to meet with Fidel Castro with the hope of broadcasting CNN to the closed island nation.

“Ted’s a great partner. He wants both sides to win,” Glover said. “The world is not as gentile and friendly as it was then.”

Tom Johnson, the former president of CNN, remembered when Turner was luring him to Atlanta from Los Angeles to run the 24-hour news network.

“I had never met anybody quite like Ted. It was almost like he could look into the future and see what could be done about it,” Johnson said. “When I asked him: ‘What do you expect of me?’ He said: ‘Make CNN the best news network in the world.’”

Johnson said world peace was always at the top of Turner’s agenda., and Turner believed CNN could make a difference for people who did not have free access to accurate information.

“Ted Turner was a very rare man who sought to do good in the world. He took on projects that nations should have tackled,” Johnson added. “He was a man of the century.”

One of the more audacious moves Turner made was pledging $1 billion in 1998 to launch the UN Foundation to stabilize the United Nations. Glover, who served as Turner’s wealth advisor, remembered Turner letting him know his donation hours before making the announcement.

“You never knew what was coming out of his mouth. But people should never underestimate his genius,” Glover said. “He does things that he believes are right in his heart regardless of the financial consequences.”

Former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Georgia) was drafted into Turner’s world in 2001 to launch the Nuclear Threat Initiative, an organization aimed at reducing the threat of weapons of mass destruction. Nunn was tapped by Turner to be NTI’s CEO, a role he held for 16 years, and continues to serve as a strategic advisor.

“After the breakup of the Soviet Union, much progress was made in reducing nuclear risks including nuclear and chemical weapons and weapon useable nuclear material,” Nunn wrote in a text. “Today we have two major tragic wars — one in the Middle East and another in the middle of Europe. Both wars could rapidly escalate, and [Russian] President Putin is threatening the use of nuclear weapons.

“The major powers, including Russia, China and the United States, must recognize the growing mutual existential risks and work diplomatically to end these conflicts and reduce these risks that threaten mankind,” Nunn continued. “Ted Turner and I believe the world must again recognize the reality of the Reagan- Gorbachev’s joint statement that “A nuclear war cannot be won and must not be fought”.  The world is in a race between cooperation and catastrophe — and cooperation is running backward.”

Johnson said he has never met anyone like Turner.

“Ted could see the future in ways few people could, and he had this unbelievable drive to turn his vision and ideas into reality,” Johnson said. “Ted felt he could make a difference even during a time when he had enormous debt.”

During the 1990s, Turner was riding high. CNN had taken off. Every new cable channel he has started, including TBS, TNT, Turner Classic Movies and Cartoon Network, was successful because he was able to combine cable television with satellites. Turner married Jane Fonda, the love of his life. The Atlanta Braves went from “worst to first,” finally winning the World Series in 1995. When looking to build a new home for his Atlanta Hawks, Turner committed to keeping the team downtown. He bought the Bona Allen building downtown in 2000 for his business operations and his Atlanta residence.

“We need some luck, so we are going to move to Luckie Street,” Glover remembers Turner saying. By that time, Turner had sold Turner Broadcasting to Time Warner, losing control of the media empire he had built. When AOL merged with Time Warner, which Turner called “a disaster,” he saw his wealth slashed and his influence diminished.

On Feb. 1, 2003, I wrote in my Atlanta Journal-Constitution column that Turner carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. I ended my column with the following message:

Here is a man who had hoped his fortune would help remove the global threat of weapons of mass destruction. Here is a man who wanted to erase world poverty, limit global overpopulation, create a sustainable Earth and find harmony between developed and undeveloped nations of the world.

Here is a man who genuinely believed in the power of communications as a way to bring the world closer together. With such ambitious goals, it’s no wonder Turner is frustrated. The fortune he had hoped would help save the world has evaporated into AOL cyberspace.

Towards the end of the “Call Me Ted” documentary, Turner said it would “be tragic to just be remembered for making lots of money.” Instead, what matters is the impact we make in the world.

“Are we going to make the right choices that will allow us to exist for another million years here on this beautiful paradise planet that we’re on, or are we going to turn it into a desert and end up blowing ourselves to kingdom come?” Turner asks. “The choice is ours.”

Note to readers — I’ve written a handful of stories about Ted Turner in recent years. Here they are for easy reference.

Mayor Kasim Reed, Xernona Clayton, Rev. Gerald Durley and Laura Turner Seydel gather around Ted Turner during street renaming (July 27, 2015)

The world according to Ted (Nov. 16, 2018)

WarnerMedia’s honor of Ted Turner: ‘It’s not enough’ (Dec. 9, 2019)