Ted Turner Is Time Magazine Man of the Year

Media mogul Ted Turner was named Time magazine’s Man of the Year on Saturday by editors who cited the impact of his Cable News Network’s live television coverage of events around the globe.

Turner, 53, was hailed as a “visionary” whose network changed the definition of news “from something that has happened to something that is happening at the very moment you are hearing of it,” the magazine said.

“For influencing the dynamic of events and turning viewers in 150 countries into instant witnesses of history, Robert Edward Turner III is Time’s Man of the Year for 1991,” the magazine said.

Turner, whose Turner Broadcasting System Inc. also operates Turner Network Television and the cable superstation WTBS, said he was “extremely honored” by the award, but credited his employees for his company’s success.

“These dedicated individuals share a common goal of informing, entertaining and inspiring audiences around the world with quality programming,” he said. “In accepting this honor, I salute their efforts toward these goals.”

Among the events carried live by CNN in 1991 were the Baghdad bombings that began the Persian Gulf War, the Soviet coup and the emergence of Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin, the trial and acquittal of William Kennedy Smith and the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

The honor caps a busy year for Turner. The television magnate’s Atlanta Braves won the National League pennant before losing a dramatic seven-game World Series to the Minnesota Twins, and he married actress Jane Fonda earlier this month.

Time Warner Inc., which publishes Time magazine, owns about 20% of Turner Broadcasting System stock, CNN reported Saturday.