Ted Turner: the man whose 24-hour CNN network broke the news

February, 1982. The startup cable news channel, CNN, is not yet two years old. It’s bleeding $2m a month. To help make payroll, owner Ted Turner , known as the “mouth of the south” for his brazen behavior, is cashing in krugerrands he’s got stashed in his private safe (concession sales from the Atlanta Braves help, too.) ABC, one of the trio of broadcast networks he’d intended to run out of business, has just announced it plans to create a rival all-news service that, out of the gate, is sure to have more viewers (and certainly more resources). It’s so bad, Ted’s even considering an alliance with another network, that “cheap whorehouse”, CBS. Then, Fidel Castro, avowed enemy of the United States, issues Ted a private invitation. He’s been pirating CNN’s signal down in Havana and, it turns out, he’s an OG fan. “I just wanted to let you know that I think CNN is the most objective source of news,” read the missive, hand-delivered to Ted in his office in Atlanta by CNN’s lone field reporter at the time, Mike Boettcher, “and if you want to come down to Cuba …” Ted’s businessman father raised him to revile communism. “The commies,” as Ed Turner called them, would invade the US and shoot anyone who had more than $50 on them. As a consequence, Ted never carries more than $49 in cash. A registered Republican, he’s fiercely patriotic. But he’s no dummy. A world leader has invited him, a burgeoning mogul, to visit. “Set it up,” he commands Boettcher. …