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Ted Turner says he’s resigning from AOL
Mercurial executive bowing out on day company announces massive losses
By Gary A. Seidman
MSNBC
Jan. 29 — Ted Turner, the brash entrepreneur who founded CNN more than 20 years ago and merged it into what is now the world’s biggest media company, is resigning from AOL Time Warner. “After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my executive duties as vice chairman of AOL Time Warner,” Turner said in a statement. “I have not come to this decision lightly.” The announcement came minutes after AOL said it will record a net loss of nearly $100 billion for all of 2002 — the largest loss in U.S. corporate history.
TURNER, who is AOL’s largest individual shareholder, has become an outspoken critic of the two-year old AOL-Time Warner merger, and was the most vocal board member calling for the ouster of chairman Steve Case. Two-and-a-half weeks ago, Case announced that he would be leaving.
AOL Chief Executive Richard Parsons, who was named to succeed Case as chairman, said he was informed of Turner’s decision to leave his post just last night. Turner will leave the company at this May’s annual shareholders meeting.
“It will allow him to devote more time to his philanthropic and other interests,” Parsons said.
“As you know,” Turner, 64, said in a statement, “this company has been a significant part of my life for over fifty years.”
Turner built his communications empire out of a billboard company owned by his father. By 1970, he had added a UHF television station, which became the launching pad a decade later for CNN.
Turner entered the Time Warner fold in 1996 when he sold his Turner Broadcasting companies — including CNN — to the media giant. At the time, he was named vice chairman of the corporation, retaining oversight for the Turner operations.
Turner became vice chairman of AOL Time Warner after the merger of those two companies in January 2001.
But Turner, who holds about 132 million AOL shares, quickly soured on the $124 billion merger, in part because of the perilous slide in the company’s stock price — the shares have fallen nearly 80 percent since the merger was announced.
But it was Turner’s slimmed down role in the company that seemed to irk him most. In November of 2001, Turner told cable television executives that he felt sidelined by AOL Time Warner when he was replaced earlier that year as head of Turner Broadcasting Systems.
The news of Turner’s resignation came on a difficult day for New York-based AOL Time Warner. Earlier on Wednesday the company posted a loss for all of 2002 of $98.7 billion. The results included a $45.5 billion fourth quarter charge related primarily to depreciation in the value of the America Online unit, as well as a charge of $54 billion earlier in the year in accordance with accounting rule changes.
Turner’s charitable endeavors include the Turner Foundation, founded in 1990, which focuses on environmental causes. He has also made huge donations to the United Nations and other causes.
“As you know, I have devoted much of my life to philanthropic interests and, more recently, to several socially responsible business efforts. Over the last five years, it has become even clearer to me how much personal satisfaction I derive from these activities. Therefore, I would like to now devote even more time, effort and resources to them.”
Mercurial executive bowing out on day company announces massive losses
By Gary A. Seidman
MSNBC
Jan. 29 — Ted Turner, the brash entrepreneur who founded CNN more than 20 years ago and merged it into what is now the world’s biggest media company, is resigning from AOL Time Warner. “After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my executive duties as vice chairman of AOL Time Warner,” Turner said in a statement. “I have not come to this decision lightly.” The announcement came minutes after AOL said it will record a net loss of nearly $100 billion for all of 2002 — the largest loss in U.S. corporate history.
TURNER, who is AOL’s largest individual shareholder, has become an outspoken critic of the two-year old AOL-Time Warner merger, and was the most vocal board member calling for the ouster of chairman Steve Case. Two-and-a-half weeks ago, Case announced that he would be leaving.
AOL Chief Executive Richard Parsons, who was named to succeed Case as chairman, said he was informed of Turner’s decision to leave his post just last night. Turner will leave the company at this May’s annual shareholders meeting.
“It will allow him to devote more time to his philanthropic and other interests,” Parsons said.
“As you know,” Turner, 64, said in a statement, “this company has been a significant part of my life for over fifty years.”
Turner built his communications empire out of a billboard company owned by his father. By 1970, he had added a UHF television station, which became the launching pad a decade later for CNN.
Turner entered the Time Warner fold in 1996 when he sold his Turner Broadcasting companies — including CNN — to the media giant. At the time, he was named vice chairman of the corporation, retaining oversight for the Turner operations.
Turner became vice chairman of AOL Time Warner after the merger of those two companies in January 2001.
But Turner, who holds about 132 million AOL shares, quickly soured on the $124 billion merger, in part because of the perilous slide in the company’s stock price — the shares have fallen nearly 80 percent since the merger was announced.
But it was Turner’s slimmed down role in the company that seemed to irk him most. In November of 2001, Turner told cable television executives that he felt sidelined by AOL Time Warner when he was replaced earlier that year as head of Turner Broadcasting Systems.
The news of Turner’s resignation came on a difficult day for New York-based AOL Time Warner. Earlier on Wednesday the company posted a loss for all of 2002 of $98.7 billion. The results included a $45.5 billion fourth quarter charge related primarily to depreciation in the value of the America Online unit, as well as a charge of $54 billion earlier in the year in accordance with accounting rule changes.
Turner’s charitable endeavors include the Turner Foundation, founded in 1990, which focuses on environmental causes. He has also made huge donations to the United Nations and other causes.
“As you know, I have devoted much of my life to philanthropic interests and, more recently, to several socially responsible business efforts. Over the last five years, it has become even clearer to me how much personal satisfaction I derive from these activities. Therefore, I would like to now devote even more time, effort and resources to them.”
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