Ted Turner Quits
Ted Turner, one of the prophets of cable television, is bidding bye-bye to his baby.
Turner, the man who built CNN and Turner Broadcasting into Industry superpowers, has decided to say adios to AOL Time Warner, the media behemoth that swallowed his cable empire, and will step down as vice chair in May.
Turner has lived up to his "Mouth of the South" nickname of late, spending much of the two years since the disastrous $106 billion merger lobbing criticism at his fellow executives.
His resignation comes just two weeks after AOL Time Warner chairman Steve Case called it quits after the world's largest media conglomerate suffered an astounding $99 billion in losses and the worst fourth quarter in U.S. business history.
"Last night, Ted Turner informed me of his decision to step down from his duties as the company's vice chairman at this May's annual shareholders meeting," AOL chief executive Richard Parsons said during an analyst conference call Wednesday. "It will allow him to devote more time to philanthropic and other interests."
The eccentric cable mogul, who sold a media empire that included Turner Broadcasting and CNN to Time Warner in 1996 before it combined with AOL two years ago, was reportedly upset to see the value of his 3.4 percent stake in the company plunge with AOL's sharp reduction in value--a $54 billion write-down in the first quarter of 2002 followed by another $45 billion in the fourth quarter ended December 31.
It's not known whether he'll remain on AOL's board, but Turner released a statement saying he was hopeful "the company will be able to move forward and reach its true potential." (Industry buzz is that Turner will leave the AOL board because it will free him up to sell his now devalued holdings.)
Turner, who lost control of the networks he built, including his beloved CNN, when AOL Time Warner was reorganized, was also particularly incensed with the way the current AOL Time Warner management failed to heed his vision. During board meetings, he loudly protested the new direction the company took CNN, transforming it from a cable outlet focused on hard news to one obsessed with personalities and tabloidal fare (see Connie Chung). Nor did he like the revamped Headline News with its in-your-face graphics and an emphasis on chatty anchors and guest musicians.
According to the New York Times, Turner has already cleaned out his 14th floor executive suite at CNN's Atlanta headquarters, including packing up his America's Cup Trophy and taking down his cherished Civil War paintings (Turner's an avid Civil War nut who produced the sweeping 1993 epic Gettysburg).
Turner has had a tough run over the last two years. Not only did the 64-year-old billionaire see his stock portfolio and profile at AOL Time Warner diminish, but his marriage to Jane Fonda ended in divorce in 2000 after the actress cum fitness guru converted to Christianity (Turner's a self-proclaimed atheist).
Once he walks from AOL, Turner has signaled he plans to do more good works--he's already promised the United Nations a billion dollars earmarked for Third World relief. Despite the decreased value of his shares (AOL Time Warner was trading under $12 today), Turner says he will honor that pledge.
In an interview with Mike Wallace on 60 Minutes II set to air next Tuesday, Turner compared his stint at AOL Time Warner to having "one foot in the door and one on the sidewalk...a title without portfolio...like the Emperor of Japan."
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