Missy Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 Ted Turner wants to run CNN again Wants 'less fluffy news and more international news' By Paul Bond Oct 15, 2009, 05:01 PM ET No knock on his "good friend" Jeff Bewkes -- or on Superman -- but Ted Turner wishes that he was running Time Warner so that he could make some changes at Cartoon Network and CNN, the cable news channel he founded 29 years ago. At CNN, he wants "less fluffy news and more international news," especially about China, Turner says in an interview set to run on Bloomberg TV on Friday. "Less talk, more news," he says. As for Cartoon Network, Turner tells anchor Betty Liu, "If I had control of it, I'd put 'Captain Planet' on at a top time period so that kids would see the environmental superhero instead of just Superman." The environment, along with population control and nuclear disarmament, have been pet projects of Turner's for decades, and he has been spending more time with those issues since retiring from media a decade ago. But he clearly misses his former occupation. When Liu asks him if there are any media mergers he'd like to see happen, Turner responds: "I'd like to see me running Time Warner." He says later, "I'd like CNN to report to me, and the Cartoon Network." He did, though, give the thumbs up to the notion of Comcast acquiring a part of NBC Universal. "Go for it," he said. "You've got to do something. They've got a real good cable system. And they don't have that much programming." Then again, Turner was also a proponent of AOL's purchase of Time Warner, which, nine years later, is generally regarded as the worst merger in corporate history. Turner also says that Viacom-CBS mogul Sumner Redstone was correct when he said at a conference that selling Turner Broadcasting to Time Warner was Turner's downfall. "He's right. I made a mistake. I was tired," Turner tells Liu. Turner also says he "buried the hatchet," as Liu put it, with News Corp. topper Rupert Murdoch about 18 months ago. He dropped him a note the other day telling him he was doing a good job with the Wall Street Journal. "He didn't write me back. He might not have gotten the letter," he says. Not that he's a fan of print newspapers: "You're chopping all these trees down and making paper out of them and trying to deal with all the waste paper. It's the biggest solid waste problem that we have." Source Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightWing Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 As for Cartoon Network, Turner tells anchor Betty Liu, "If I had control of it, I'd put 'Captain Planet' on at a top time period so that kids would see the environmental superhero instead of just Superman." O_O Where does Turner live in relation to the Dallas/Fort Worth area? I need to focus my heat vision. EDIT: On further reflection, it's funny that he's telling Time Warner how he'd like to buy their company so that he can run them into the ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missy Posted October 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2009 Oh no, James! I see you in here! Avert your eyes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Venneh Posted October 16, 2009 Report Share Posted October 16, 2009 Ahem: PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT, OR I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! CAPTAIN PLAAAANET! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc20willsave Posted October 16, 2009 Report Share Posted October 16, 2009 Venneh, I think you're on to something. Revive Captain Planet 90's style. (Yes, I am aware the show was released in the nineties but bear with me.) Ma-ti gets killed off in the first episode by Hoggish Greedly. As a result, the planeteers become eco-terroists who summon forth Captain Planet to kill the enemies of the Earth since he no longer has a heart to hold him back. His mullet goes crazy and he starts wearing dozens of sidepacks and huge shoulder pads. Rob Liefeld's Captain Planet, coming to Cartoon Network in 2010. Go Green or DIE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James D. Posted October 16, 2009 Report Share Posted October 16, 2009 Venneh, I think you're on to something. Revive Captain Planet 90's style. (Yes, I am aware the show was released in the nineties but bear with me.) Ma-ti gets killed off in the first episode by Hoggish Greedly. As a result, the planeteers become eco-terroists who summon forth Captain Planet to kill the enemies of the Earth since he no longer has a heart to hold him back. His mullet goes crazy and he starts wearing dozens of sidepacks and huge shoulder pads. Rob Liefeld's Captain Planet, coming to Cartoon Network in 2010. Go Green or DIE! If that isn't Post of the Day, I don't know what is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Robinson Posted October 16, 2009 Report Share Posted October 16, 2009 dc20, you're a national treasure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stavros Posted October 16, 2009 Report Share Posted October 16, 2009 I totally agree with him on CNN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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