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Club World Affairs
Showing posts with label Ted Turner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ted Turner. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Turner and Kawasaki at ContentNow Blog
Martine Paris has nice things to say about the recent appearance at The Club of Ted Turner and Guy Kawasaki. Read the post or check out her entire ContentNow blog.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Ted Turner Sings an Old Tune
Media mogul Ted Turner spoke at The Commonwealth Club twice yesterday, first in conversation with San Francisco Chronicle's Phil Bronstein in San Francisco, and in the evening in conversation with Club CEO & President Dr. Gloria C. Duffy in Palo Alto. Both times, he was full of opinions and humor and good-natured orneriness.
But he sang at only one of the events, after he boasted to Bronstein that he could sing, and promptly began his song. (He followed up the song by reciting poetry.)
How many businessmen can carry a tune? Bronstein's blog includes the above video, from Dickson Louie, of Turner's Old Kentucky Home rendition. Not a bad singer, eh?
Turner Tells Old War Stories; Reveals Little About Ted
When Dr. Gloria Duffy, the Commonwealth Club's president and CEO, began a question to Ted Turner with "Mr. Turner," the cable news revolutionary deadpanned, "Call me Ted."
That, of course, is the title of Turner's autobiography slated to debut at number eight on the New York Times bestseller's list.
The humorous retort was emblematic of an evening featuring Turner's thoughts on the economy, foreign affairs, his children, ex-wife Jane Fonda and pet projects such as nuclear disarmament and global warming.
When asked why he had little involvement in the dot-com boom of the late 90's, Turner said facetiously, “Has there ever been anybody who ever led more than one revolution in one lifetime? Martin Luther King had civil rights, but that’s all he did. Alexander the Great conquered the world, but that’s all he did.”
Turner, who turned 70 Wednesday, sounded at times like an elder who claimed to have forecast every important event with the aid of hindsight.
On the demise of newspapers: "It's obsolete technologically. I saw that 40 years ago."
On the automobile industry: Turner said he "studied the situation" during the 1974 energy crisis and begrudgingly purchased a compact Japanese car.
On the rise of digital photography: Turner said he realized film was in trouble when he tested digital cameras 15 years ago.
It is undeniable, though, that Turner's wild-eyed vision of a 24-hour cable news network changed the media landscape forever. In some of the most interesting moments of the hour-long conversation, Turner described with wonderment how the Big Three networks failed to see the potential of cable news.
He described the network's vast infrastructure as being "1,000 times bigger than mine" and furiously worked to build the network from scratch without arousing the attention of the networks.
“I figured they were like a pack of hounds and I was going to be like a rabbit. I had to stay out in front of them because if they ever caught me they would tear me apart like a pack of hounds do a rabbit,” Turner said.
Calling himself a "global worrier," Turner mixed humor with real concern for the economic well-being of the country. At one point, he said people should welcome children back to the nest if the economy continues to spin downward.
“I’m really worried that we’re going to have a meltdown," Turner said, "But, I’m already thinking in terms of offering my children to move back into my house with me. If you remember "Sanford & Son," you know Lamont and Fred seemed happy.”
When asked if he believed the automobile industry should be bailed out, he said, "I don't think so" and instead offered his own idea for a bailout of the restaurant industry. "You can’t go more than three days without eating.” said Turner who owns Ted's Montana Grill with 50 restaurants in 18 states.
Turner believes the economy will distract president-elect Barack Obama's attention from other pressing issues like global warming, poverty and nuclear weapons.
He also agreed with Obama's desire to talk with our enemies, in particular, Iran. “I would meet with them and see if I could make them laugh," Turner said, "How can you sit there with a straight face? We’ve got 12,000 nuclear weapons and we tell Iran they can’t have any, but it’s okay for Israel to have them. They look at Israel as a danger. I think we all got to get rid of them or we’re all going to have them.”
Similar to numerous reviews of his book, Turner focused very little on his early years. The suicide of his father and abuse and the death of his sister to Lupus were touched upon but Turner offered little or no real insight, despite Turner's belief that you cannot know someone without understanding where they came from.
Turner did speak about his famous ex-wife Jane Fonda who wrote a section of the autobiography, revealing warts and all. “I’m good with that," said Turner. "I mean, after all, what’s she suppose to say? We got divorced. There must have been some problems.”
Despite the breakup, Turner indicated the two still share a good relationship. Fonda attended his birthday bash last Saturday featuring Burt Bacharach.
“She came to my birthday party. I talk to her just about every week to get my dose of humility," Turner said, "My father use to say that a few fleas were good for a dog, they reminded him that’s what he was.”
That, of course, is the title of Turner's autobiography slated to debut at number eight on the New York Times bestseller's list.
The humorous retort was emblematic of an evening featuring Turner's thoughts on the economy, foreign affairs, his children, ex-wife Jane Fonda and pet projects such as nuclear disarmament and global warming.
When asked why he had little involvement in the dot-com boom of the late 90's, Turner said facetiously, “Has there ever been anybody who ever led more than one revolution in one lifetime? Martin Luther King had civil rights, but that’s all he did. Alexander the Great conquered the world, but that’s all he did.”
Turner, who turned 70 Wednesday, sounded at times like an elder who claimed to have forecast every important event with the aid of hindsight.
On the demise of newspapers: "It's obsolete technologically. I saw that 40 years ago."
On the automobile industry: Turner said he "studied the situation" during the 1974 energy crisis and begrudgingly purchased a compact Japanese car.
On the rise of digital photography: Turner said he realized film was in trouble when he tested digital cameras 15 years ago.
It is undeniable, though, that Turner's wild-eyed vision of a 24-hour cable news network changed the media landscape forever. In some of the most interesting moments of the hour-long conversation, Turner described with wonderment how the Big Three networks failed to see the potential of cable news.
He described the network's vast infrastructure as being "1,000 times bigger than mine" and furiously worked to build the network from scratch without arousing the attention of the networks.
“I figured they were like a pack of hounds and I was going to be like a rabbit. I had to stay out in front of them because if they ever caught me they would tear me apart like a pack of hounds do a rabbit,” Turner said.
Calling himself a "global worrier," Turner mixed humor with real concern for the economic well-being of the country. At one point, he said people should welcome children back to the nest if the economy continues to spin downward.
“I’m really worried that we’re going to have a meltdown," Turner said, "But, I’m already thinking in terms of offering my children to move back into my house with me. If you remember "Sanford & Son," you know Lamont and Fred seemed happy.”
When asked if he believed the automobile industry should be bailed out, he said, "I don't think so" and instead offered his own idea for a bailout of the restaurant industry. "You can’t go more than three days without eating.” said Turner who owns Ted's Montana Grill with 50 restaurants in 18 states.
Turner believes the economy will distract president-elect Barack Obama's attention from other pressing issues like global warming, poverty and nuclear weapons.
He also agreed with Obama's desire to talk with our enemies, in particular, Iran. “I would meet with them and see if I could make them laugh," Turner said, "How can you sit there with a straight face? We’ve got 12,000 nuclear weapons and we tell Iran they can’t have any, but it’s okay for Israel to have them. They look at Israel as a danger. I think we all got to get rid of them or we’re all going to have them.”
Similar to numerous reviews of his book, Turner focused very little on his early years. The suicide of his father and abuse and the death of his sister to Lupus were touched upon but Turner offered little or no real insight, despite Turner's belief that you cannot know someone without understanding where they came from.
Turner did speak about his famous ex-wife Jane Fonda who wrote a section of the autobiography, revealing warts and all. “I’m good with that," said Turner. "I mean, after all, what’s she suppose to say? We got divorced. There must have been some problems.”
Despite the breakup, Turner indicated the two still share a good relationship. Fonda attended his birthday bash last Saturday featuring Burt Bacharach.
“She came to my birthday party. I talk to her just about every week to get my dose of humility," Turner said, "My father use to say that a few fleas were good for a dog, they reminded him that’s what he was.”
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Ted Turner on Nuclear Disarmament
In the above video excerpt, media mogul Ted Turner explains that his professional focus has changed from being a media entrepreneur to taking on the big issues, such as nuclear disarmament.
It was part of a wide-ranging (and often humorous) discussion he had with the San Francisco Chronicle's Phil Bronstein at The Commonwealth Club November 18, 2008.
Please forgive the low-quality video; we'll post a full video when our video partners at ForaTV make it available.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Ted Turner: Man of Mystery
Ted Turner once called audience members with crucifix-marked foreheads “Jesus freaks” one Ash Wednesday and believes global warming will ultimately cause humans to become cannibals.
Yet there is more to Turner than his propensity for raucous hyperbole and politically incorrect jest.
In his new book, Call Me Ted, according to reviews, Turner wants to tell you about the rise of CNN, his sporting adventures retaining the America's Cup and winning the World Series with the Atlanta Braves, the inner-workings of the infamous deal with Time Warner and ill-fated merger with AOL. But save for intimate details of his divorce from Jane Fonda, there is little new information about his life, and that seems to suit Turner well.
According to a New York Times article, writer Bill Burke wrote a flattering and lengthy magazine article entitled "Leadership Lessons I Learned From Ted Turner," which resulted in Turner immediately offering Burke the job of writing his memoirs. Burke has never written a book before.
What did Turner get by choosing Burke rather than an author with more gravitas for the autobiography (for which Grand Central Publishing paid an advance of $5 million)? Turner's agent Morton Janklow seems to indicate that, despite worries about Burke's inexperience, Turner's comfort with the author was a fair trade off for the lack of a big-name writer.
A review in the San Francisco Chronicle gets to the heart of Turner's entrepreneurial spirit, comparing him to other contemporary tech visionaries who stumbled once their dream was established.
Turner is a perfect visionary for a start-up; a leader who might make mistakes, but who will always be ready to work harder than the next guy and turn a crazy idea into a successful organization. But once the idea is realized, the charismatic visionary can be out of place.The hard-charging Turner can be seen here in a 60 Minutes segment on the 1977 America's Cup.
In a dispute over the purchase of sails, Turner tells Walter Cronkite if his competitor is winning by the end of the race, "We'll sink them," before adding, "That would be unsportsmanlike conduct, I'm sure."
The irascible Turner continues to be the philanthrophic man of mystery thoroughly romanticized in American culture. A sort of gap-toothed, free-wheeling Bruce Wayne of cable news who still thinks you should try some bison meat.
Turner will appear at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco Wednesday, November 19 at noon and in San Jose.
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