Media Moguls with Web Barr

Today, Ted Turner passed away at the age of 87. In this special episode of Media Moguls, I reflect on the life, legacy, and incredible impact of one of the most important media figures in history. From transforming a struggling Atlanta UHF TV station into the national Superstation TBS via the satellite… to launching CNN and creating the 24/7 news cycle… to revolutionizing sports broadcasting throu...

After 10 episodes, nearly 30 hours of audio, and three years of work, the final chapter of Media Moguls: The Ted Turner Saga is here. In the 1990s, the media world went big, and Ted Turner knew he had to keep up. Despite building CNN into a global force and launching TNT, Cartoon Network, and more, Turner Broadcasting was still too small for a rapidly consolidating industry. After failed attempts...

In the wake of his MGM gamble and cable bailout, Ted Turner was not just fighting to survive. He was building. As CNN cemented its global authority covering the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the Gulf War in Iraq, Turner used MGM’s massive film library as fuel for expansion. Out of that library came TNT, Cartoon Network, Turner Classic Movies, and more, transforming...

In 1985, fresh off his failed bid for CBS, Ted Turner faced his own Rubicon moment. He could double down on a bigger, more cash-heavy hostile network takeover, or walk away and chase something even bigger and riskier. When billionaire dealmaker Kirk Kerkorian offered him MGM in a lightning-fast, all-cash deal, Ted pivoted to Hollywood, betting everything on the hidden value of film libraries and t...

By the early 1980s, Ted Turner had built CNN from scratch, taken his Superstation nationwide, and outlasted the networks’ counterattacks. But there was still one thing he didn’t have — a broadcast network. In this episode, we follow Ted Turner’s audacious bid to buy CBS and how his network dream became possible in a new Wall Street era fueled by Reaganomics, deregulation, junk bonds, and corporate...

The cameras are rolling, the clock is ticking, and Ted Turner has bet everything he owns on CNN. This episode takes you inside CNN’s first hour, first day, first year, and first decade, from the first broadcast to the first ad, the first breaking news moment, and the first competitors. We cover the battles that shaped CNN’s early years: lawsuits against the Big 3 and the White House, Reagan’s shoo...

This episode tells the story of how Ted Turner built and launched CNN, the world’s first 24-hour news network, in just 11 months. At a time when network news aired only 30 minutes a night, Turner saw a bigger opportunity. With news veteran Reese Schonfeld, he set out to build a nonstop news operation from Atlanta, using cable and satellites to take on the media establishment. We'll explore how CNN...

This episode follows the rise of the Superstation, the backlash it triggered, and the battles that helped shape the future of television. Ted Turner takes WTCG Channel 17 from a scrappy Atlanta station to a national disruptor, beaming it across the country as America’s first Superstation. With a mix of old movies, classic TV reruns, and Braves baseball, Turner reached millions of viewers from Kans...

This episode explores the boldest gamble of Ted Turner's life to date — launching his scrappy Atlanta TV station, WTCG Channel 17, into orbit via satellite and transforming it into America’s first SUPERSTATION. From Arthur C. Clarke’s 1945 prediction of satellite TV to Telstar I’s first live broadcast to HBO’s 1975 Thrilla in Manila transmission that took the tech to a new level, we land in the mi...

Long before live sports dominated television and drove billions in media rights deals, the televised sports landscape was limited, local, and low-priority. In this episode, we explore how Ted Turner saw something no one else did: that sports weren’t just games — they were powerful, 162-game-long TV shows. And when he turned the worst team in baseball into a programming goldmine for his upstart UHF...

How Ted Turner turned the worst TV station in Atlanta into the launchpad for his media empire. In Episode 2 of Media Moguls: The Ted Turner Saga, we dive into the chaotic early days of Ted’s first TV station—his bold move to buy a struggling UHF channel in Atlanta called WJRJ (soon renamed WTCG). It was bleeding cash, had barely any viewers, and wasn’t even available on most TVs. So how did he mak...

Season 1 begins with Ted Turner, the media maverick who revolutionized cable television, news, and sports. But before Turner built his media empire, he was just a young man shaped by ambition, discipline, and tragedy—driven by a relentless need to succeed. In this debut episode, longtime media operator and host Web Barr unpacks the pivotal moments that set Ted Turner on his path—from a chaotic chi...

They’re risk-takers, rule-breakers, and empire builders. These are the stories of the visionaries who transformed media forever. In the debut season of Media Moguls, longtime media operator Web Barr takes you inside the rise of one of the most daring and unconventional figures in media history—Ted Turner. Media Moguls: The Ted Turner Saga begins on March 19, 2025. Learn more about your ad choices....