Turner leaving the board of Time Warner

[SOURCE: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, AUTHOR: Matt Kempner & Caroline Wilbert]
Severing official ties to the TV networks so closely linked to his identity and that of Atlanta, CNN founder Ted Turner isn't running for reelection to the board of Time Warner, the New York media giant to which he sold his Atlanta-based Turner Broadcasting. Despite sales and philanthropic giving of his shares, he remains the company's largest individual shareholder, with more than $500 million in stock. His departure from the board this spring would make it easier for the 67-year-old Turner to sell his Time Warner holdings or speak his mind more freely -- though he hasn't always resisted the latter during his decade on the board. His power within the company has waned. USAToday reports that Turner's departure from the board appears to symbolically close the book on a colorful media career during which he reshaped news, entertainment and sports. He pioneered the use of satellites to distribute ad-supported channels to cable operators nationwide -- circumventing the expensive land lines that ABC, CBS and NBC used to dominate television. He launched channels such as CNN, TNT and Cartoon Network and collected entertainment assets including the Atlanta Braves, animation company Hanna-Barbera and New Line Cinema. “He's one of the greatest visionaries many of us will ever know,” says former cable leader Leo Hindery. “Without CNN, the cable industry would never have matured and evolved as it did. The rest of us were putting in wires. Ted gave us something to watch.”
http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/0224turnertimewarne...

* ‘Visionary leader' Turner to leave Time Warner board
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20060227/3b_tedturner27.art.htm