Talk:Ted Turner

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[edit] Coloring movies

Nothing about Ted Turner's propensity to color movies?Syfymichael 17:43, 25 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Who is Ted Turner, really?

I think Ted's early life could use some more work. The intro briefly mentions inheriting his father's billboard business, but in the Life section, it seems like he goes from racing yachts to spending billions purchasing companies without actually earning any of that money. Was the billboard business really big or what? How'd he get all that money in the first place? Pulsemeat 04:14, 24 May 2006 (UTC)

I added a large amount of information--largely culled from other Wikipedia articles-- about the development of Turner's empire. I wonder if there's more in there now than is strictly necessary for his bio (possibly belonging in the company article) but I agree with you that the origin of his wealth needs to be discussed in his article. Any comments? DCB4W 00:27, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

The opening section says his father's billboard business was worth $1 million dollars when he inherited it but the "Early Life" section says the company was bankrupt when he inherited it. It probably can't be both. I don't know which is more accurate. Anonymous 17:44, 6 Sep 2006 (UTC)

He is quoted as saying I am very serious about running for president, but Jane doesn't want me to do it Thus I added his opportunity to become president to the main page


Re: Turner Outdoor The company was bankrupt or nearly so when he inherited it. He rebuilt it into a profitable company and then used the profits to purchase WTCG Channel 17 in Atlanta, which was transformed into WTBS in the late 1970s. Turner Outdoor was kept financially separate from the other media empire so that if the worst happened, he'd have the billboard company to fall back on.Symphony Girl 00:55, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Assessment

  • Importance: High. Not only one greatest accumulators and dispensers of wealth of all-time, but did so in a way that affected lots of other people.
  • Assessment: B-class
    • If I can make big changes to the article without looking anything up, then it can't possibly be GA-class.
    • Yet it's not start class, because:
    • it has an impressive bibiography of sources,
    • it covers all the major events in his life
    • it explains the impact of many of them
    • it covers many minor events that are useful to complete the story or explain the subject's motiviation
    • the style's not perfect, but it avoids the worst errors described in WP:NPOV and WP:LIVING, and does some good things as well
  • Needed:
    • Family
    • Fill in the rest of the chronology
    • Pin-citations instead of general citations

--M@rēino 22:20, 23 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] controversial statements

There is nothing on turner's controversial statements against the president,other republicans etc...any thoughts??--Bairdso66 01:57, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

  • They're only really worth including if they will still be important years from now (see Wikipedia:Recentism). --M@rēino 14:06, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

His confusion on whether or not to support the U.S. on the war on terrror. "i wanted to read more and do more research" because "with us or against us" is a tough decision. I think that may hold some sig--Bairdso66 23:37, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

Ted's slurs against Christians have been reported by everyone from the New York Times to the National Review [1] [2]. It seems like those comments warrant mention on the page. Steve8675309 22:27, 28 January 2007 (UTC)

The "controversy" section seems ill-founded. Is there even anything notably controversial to note? He doesn't like Christians... like that's a secret. Who does? --Dyefade (talk) 01:55, 20 February 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia is not a place for personal attacks. By the way, on April 1 Ted Turner renounced his atheism/agnosticism and joined forces with the Christian church, no fu****g joke. [3]

Controversial information about Ted Turner would include his support of eugenics programs around the world. Type "Ted Turner Eugenics" into google search or cherry pick and research the facts from this video http://digg.com/politics/Alex_Jones_On_CoasttoCoast_AM_on_Ted_Turner_s_Eugenics_Plan It's some pretty heavy and verifiable stuff.

[edit] Parodies

I'm surprised that there is bupkis about the frequent parodies and lampooning he takes on television. He is frequently made fun of on shows like Family Guy ("I did something that I think will benefit humanity... I colorized the moon") or Saturday Night Live. The reason I ask here is is this something that was previously removed from the article? Valley2city 22:42, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

  • It's been included at various points, but usually it's very poorly done (for example, implying that Ted Turner really did all the stuff on those TV shows, or failing to give citations) so it gets deleted. If you write up a section with proper style and documentation, however, it would be a very welcome addition to the article. --M@rēino 23:15, 15 August 2007 (UTC)
    • There is currently a very poorly written section about the Family Guy parodies listed incorrectly under the "Controversies" section. If someone who knows more about that topic could take that section out of "Controversies" and put in a "Parodies" section, that would be great. Sherlock (talk) 01:18, 1 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Bipolar Diagnosis

Would it be inapropriate to mention that he supposedly has self-disclosed about having bipolar disorder? I can't find a source to an interview where he says this, but the second to last paragraph in this Forbes article about the aol/time warner merger states that Turner has or had bipolar. Forbes is probably a good enough source to assert that Turner is "thought to have" or "said to have" bipolar, but I'd like someone to find a source of him saying it himself, and confirming it as a medical diagnosis that was made of him. Turner's name does appear frequently in list of "famous people with a mental illness".--Ajasen (talk) 04:25, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] So the guy has a big patch. How many times do we need to read that?

I counted three times the article references Ted Turners huge land-ownership, and I wasn't even looking that closely. Does it really bear *that* many mentions. Give it its own section, and leave it at that, or mention it once in the lead-in, and in its own section... Repeating it over and over, ad nauseam, really does not make the article good reading. -- Cimon Avaro; on a pogostick. (talk) 17:21, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] No longer agnostic

According to a new AP release from April 1 (I hope it's actually real), Turner's now joined forces with the Christian church for some cause and no longer considers himself agnostic/atheist. It doesn't say if he's Christian or whatnot. Unbelievable, but true. I've altered the information in the article. 142.176.56.72 (talk) 23:10, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Aligning yourself with Christians doesn't necessarily make you a Christian yourself. I think he's still agnostic or atheist (I'm not sure about those statement either, to be honest), but he's just more tolerant of religion. Arthur Curry (talk) 15:06, 4 April 2008 (UTC)
According to the reference he's considerably more tolerant, and quotes him as saying he is "no longer atheist". DJ Clayworth (talk) 15:09, 4 April 2008 (UTC)
  • Having read the article, it sounds like he's invented his own personal religion, complete with alternative Commandments. Turner's beliefs have never stayed constant for too long, and I think this is an issue that will continue to fascinate biographers long after Turner is gone. --M@rēino 15:25, 4 April 2008 (UTC)