The death of Ted Turner earlier this week prompted renewed discussion about the man who transformed television news and launched the 24-hour cable news era with CNN. During a Thursday appearance on WMAL Radio with host Derek Hunter, Media Research Center President David Bozell reflected on Turner’s lasting impact while offering sharp criticism of both the billionaire businessman and the network he created. Bozell acknowledged Turner’s role as a media innovator, pointing to CNN’s creation, the expansion of cable sports through TBS, and Turner’s role in popularizing nationally televised baseball and football. But Bozell made clear he had little admiration for Turner personally. You can be successful in business and still be an idiot. @DavidBozell and @derekahunter look back on Ted Turner's legacy. pic.twitter.com/il8Ien90dr — Media Research Center (@theMRC) May 7, 2026 Bozell cited Turner’s long history of controversial statements attacking Christians and promoting radical environmentalism. “Turner attacked Catholics as Jesus freaks for adhering to Ash Wednesday, he attacked pro-lifers as bozos, he said Christianity was for losers,” Bozell said. “He went on Charlie Rose’s show and said if we don’t address global warming, we’re all going to turn into cannibals.” "It's difficult to disassociate his personal world views from the network he created," Bozell noted. Bozell argued that Turner’s worldview became deeply embedded within CNN’s programming. “He had built a cable network that reflected a lot of his worldview,” Bozell said. “That agenda was proclaimed and broadcast on the airwaves of CNN up and down its program lineup in the ’80s and the ’90s.” Asked whether the Media Research Center would even exist in its current form without Turner and CNN, Bozell gave a candid answer. “Probably not, if I had to be totally honest about it,” he admitted. “If the news were three networks airing a half-hour show every night and three or four big papers, probably not.” "A lot of careers and professions owe their livelihoods to Ted Turner and what he created." @DavidBozell and @derekahunter reflect on Ted Turner's legacy on @WMALDC pic.twitter.com/5EahClCRpF — Media Research Center (@theMRC) May 7, 2026 Bozell also noted that conservative media itself was shaped in part by CNN’s rise. “Does Rush Limbaugh exist without CNN? I don’t know,” he said. “A lot of what he played to prove the existence of liberal bias came from Media Research Center clips we got from CNN.” While Bozell credited Turner’s innovations in broadcasting and even praised his bison conservation efforts, he ultimately concluded that the rise of cable opinion journalism has harmed the country. “I think if CNN had just stuck to every half hour on the hour, here’s a repeat of the headlines, we’d be much better off,” Bozell said. “All the opinion stuff has not brought this country together.”