Allows me will be broadcasting experts of this interview this friday you hear me do the re id to keep consistent sound also lisa who got her first journalism job as a teenager report for the New York Times and marketplace and msnbc and the author two previous books radio and shangrila about the man who made the mcdonalds fortune and the one who gave it all the way. Using the Atlanta History Center for research and to be with the constituency. Its difficult for some of the people who are watching to imagine life before being accessible all the time so what was this idea of 24 7 and Cable News Network before cnn . The foreword ted turner turned channel 17 on all night, there was no tv all night. Its hard to believe but before cable had come along television stopped usually after the late movie and it was off all night until it came on at don. So the only is anything channel was like a spaceship from mars. Crazy and unimaginable. The man behind the moonshot channel 17 here in atlanta made him a legendary figure here also owning the Atlanta Braves helped but his early life maybe not so well known. Risk living entrepreneur that he became . And he inherited the billboard business and from the very beginning he saw grandeur even in the board but it wasnt enough so going into radio and tv a no holds barred person he had the braves telecast by a coming in to her. He didnt have the money, certainly didnt have the audience but stole it and heard from a number of people he would jump on peoples desk and say by had time for me even though they had no idea why they should spend money. And he was persistent with this business story and did not take no for an answer. He did not let anything defeat him even though nobody was watching his television station. So the business that they started. He was left holding the reins of his business after his father killed himself and he was 24 years old at the times. Started to buy radio stations and then dispersed channel 17. Give us a sense of how cable stations were at that point . I know who is out there but for people to get up off the couch and turn a dial on top of the television you hs versus vhs they call it the lunatic fringe because they have the right devices and there was very little that was airing on and had to scramble for programming. But that kind of television station at that time and mostly men were real risk takers and to be parlayed and then to take the chance to go into that business was wild in and of itself. And crazy things that no one else where they are and will tash is legendary his crazy nukes cast in the middle of the night that they slowly started to tune and although they didnt always admit it. And those who knew him when he was on the air. Part of that licensing and with those Public Affairs and ten was decidedly anti news. And and he crusaded against the news and a young radio announcer who stumbled into the station i hope hes out there. If he is, say hello and with all these other young folks who are tantalized by the process, he was the guy who drew the short straw as a station announcer who had to do the requisite announcer into the front requisite newscast not like any other. Now we have lampoons all the time but he and the crew in the middle of the night did a jokey newscast because i want to do serious one and they had to persuade their boss it was okay to the sec requirements for the news. And then tongueincheek for themselves but it turned out it was spread out around the southeast and ultimately around the nation and one of the signatures of the entire statio station. And a masterpiece a bad taste. And there is the sec will change which meant that i started to get fan mail from people outside of atlanta. Why were people watching a georgia station in nebraska . Because they could. And then it so hard to imagine there was a time there was just a few stations of most of them went off at night if you were left up and kansas and there was bill in the middle of the night doing funny things, it seemed like it was live you just watched it because you were so thankful there was a late night movie and was there to entertain you. Is a concept without calling it that. And i love it centered in atlanta not like dc or new york and basically ted and his merry band of tp folk together the moment in time that technology allowed pumping out what they were doing first locally then regionally and nationally and showing the power of 24 hour news and the power of cable that was very unsexy and in trouble right now but then it was like the internet and the tesla television at that time to allowed tv to rev up to new heights. Shot across the bow that had been decided what news was a what programming should be for a really long time. And then ted turner walks in. And considered it a downer so what was the appeal for him to start the all news 24 hour station . Once he got word Home Box Office upstart was playing around with cable the same way he was, to build regionally than just in the typical area where it was licensed, he heard about jerry levin and they would be made up to a satellite and then broadcast around the nation, he wanted to do that to. He jerry would do with movies and those were tough because you had to license and get the rights, he wanted to do it with the sports but then that would cannibalize the main ingredient of channel 17. He said maybe music and someone said thats a dumb idea nobody will ever watch music on television. So finally the last grasp of what he could do with this technology was news. All news radio had just started to bubble up in some markets and that was his entree into using the satellite to spread that throughout the nation. And narrow copyright is expensive to produce but the cheapest way to produce that thats the next part of the story. Since there they started doing the jokey news late at night to the sec requirements for Public Service programming did anybody notice . And never noticed anything that suggested that. Maybe if somebody knows because there are no records from that station. Everything i found was cobbled together from peoples personal archives. But nobody cared and nobody was paying close attention. He was austere and the grown up and took issue with that and nobody ever said there were rules that had to be serious so they managed to get away with it. Because so many came and went and ted actually picked up another one in a fire sale and charlotte so they were the lunatic fringe. So the journalist who thinks a programming is everything that sortable Television News and becomes a major pleasure on player so what is his vision and how did ted turner come into it . We should be embodied a number of men at the time that for years they were trying to pierce the network stranglehold not just news but entertainment. But it was impossible because it literally onto the airwaves. Struggling in various jobs to figure out how to do it. And then he had been trying to sell news to ted as an independent and had a new service and he thought that one that he started previously , he just wanted ted on board. And he said absolutely not a hidden is that will never do news. So when he did decide to do news that is who he called. And he was as hardcore news as ted was anti news so they made an unusual pair but they both had the same goal in mind and that was to bust the conventional system of the networks. He was cable before cable was cool. He didnt say that until the early eighties perk up until the point it was cool, nobody understood or cared. Even the people who worked for him for the large part thought that he was crazy. The other thing he did virgini virginia, along with bill and playing movies and sports, nobody would buy the commercial time from him so he got into direct mail. Today we go on to the Internet Order it and it will be at the door in a couple of hours but back then, if you could watch a Television Commercial for a product and order it besides convenient it was utilitarian. Those were the mainstay. And then to get that station out more and more. Because orders were coming in from all over the United States. So there was mail coming in and the evidence was there was a hunger to watch the stuff. And that reputation was wellestablished and one critic says it was like attila the hun running summer camp for the elderly. [laughter] there is a wonderful scene where rees comes and meets ted and then it comes through it is a beautiful dive and to talk about what it would take to create a new station so give us a sense of that conversation. Basically they were at odds because rees could not imagine it was sort of place in atlanta late 1970s ted wanted it to be in atlanta he didnt understand exactly what he wanted to have on it except to have this channel he was very excited about the idea and felt they needed a journalistic credibility publicly crazy all over the place and they needed somebody sobering and they said we should go after dan rather but wasnt entirely clear who dan rather was. But it was important to him and he was at home at 6 30 p. M. When the network news ran because he was busy working so running around with his lady friends it was a very clear and then to go after and then to cut back and they are pretty sure if they had enough money they could woo him. And then the television and capital at that time and other challenges and reasonable produced an hour of Live Television now signing up 24 7 and 365 day so now its a hustle to find the staff and turning a country club into the elaborate set. And with the veteran newspeople with this intoxicating opposition watching the news is like eating your vegetables but back to your question , basically the ted found, or the people found the lesser dead country club and maybe would be developed, maybe not and they had to retrofit this club with rats pretty quickly in order to have it ready. And then to have the largest array ever installed at that point there is a lot of story here of changing technology was the Human Resources and convincing people are not too much money for something that might not work is not a foregone conclusion so basically kavanaugh was one of the chief producers he may be on the call him and decided they needed to get cheap labor to go out and find young people willing to work for less than minimum wage to have that moment in television you couldnt get because there were only three networks and a few hours produced every day there was no chance. So thats what they did including kavanaugh to go out to Journalism Schools to rally around and meanwhile hundreds were streaming in because there were people in local news who wanted to be on the air or produce network news there were not that many opportunities at the actual network and to put their life on hold the other thing that happened that is incredibly unusual at the time is hiring couples use verboten so otherwise one of you would have to leave so if you could get a twoforone will be a camera person or the anchorwoma anchorwoman, he went for it and it was cheaper to move them and of course they were invested because everybody wears marching to the deadline june 1st, 1980 and pitching in to help and basically making it all up. We do know they passed on one journalist named Oprah Winfrey and charlie rose. And the story is remarkable i got this going in one year the startup before startups actually happened operating like a Training Camp and it just crackled with excitement in the house atmosphere how fresh with those stories and people told them to you . Some people hold back the drugs and sex that i still hear about now especially now the book is out because it was a big wild toga party apparently. But everybody who i talked to is so thrilled to be sharing that moment in time because whatever they did with the rest of their lives or scurried out of the business after a year, they all had a memorable and incredible experience because how often do you get to build something completely new . Around a lot of people because after you have that will of building something from scratch, Everything Else in the aftermath seems hohum into the existing structure but the book was so fun to write there was no clearcut source cnn did not help me even if they had i would not rely entirely on what they have to say because it is so completely not a corporate book it is incorporate is not the message you want to get out about a place all the people who came there didnt know what the heck is going on it was a tremendous accident. Up all night the new book by lisa napoli recorded for the atlanta author talk series. The book was wonderful in the early through the mid eighties like having a permanent seat what if anything didnt make the book that you would have liked to have included . Will have the drugs and sex. [laughter] a lot of that i could not verify it wasnt supposed to be completely tawdry but i think i was very proud and i could distill this concentrated moment in time. I know i left things out but i cannot think of anything major and that excitement is what i wanted to convey and that it was fair. Im stealing your line of questioning by saying one of the biggest things that i found i wasnt sure i could find when ted turner went to cuba to visit fidel castro who was pirating the signal almost from the inception. I was delighted and that his staff and the office made a copy. And then i wanted to see it for archival purposes and their interactions because of course that is enormously controversial interaction the head of the tv network that would make the trek to cuba one of the avowed enemies of the United States and then fidel castro that was a fascinating twist in the book. He was basically a conservative why do you think he did . He was dazzled a world leader was watching what he brought. It was a thrill. It was so uncertain and he had gone through so many obstacles which i detail in the book that have killed cnn before it even started. Even once it started it was a soft launch now because it was not guaranteed would keep going. Only in a couple of million homes to start. Anymore those disavowed enemies it was incredibly flattering. And then never taken seriously in part because of the behavior now all of a sudden the idea somebody who is enormously serious would be reaching out and want to talk. But was affirming for him to. They had to fight in the early days even to be part of the White House Press pool. It seems obvious now. It was not easy for anybody to penetrate that bonded inner circle. And then fidel castro says i would like to meet you. He provided a transformational moment of ted turner as well the television station that was growing with leaps and bounds in moving into Global Markets of Cnn International and he sees it more than a money maker and could change the world. How deep did that go . Enormously deep and probably not the most captivating part of the story that the world was changing simultaneously. Its hard to remember that was a moment in time not just had experimenting lots of other people experimenting. And they were revolutionizing all types of communication and then to penetrate more markets and more nations and using those wires to transmit a force for good. Absolutely. How to cnn avoid hiring technicians and how important it was that quick. Enormous it never would have worked without it thats why atlanta was an incredibly wonderful place. There were issues in new york and dc. It was controversial going out to a thirdparty one of the reason why the White House Press pool did not want cnn and in it because they use nonunion labor. There was no way with the budget that it had could ever have gone off the ground at that moment in time. Im glad somebody brought this up. Among the many characters in the early days. [inaudible] how long did he stay at cnn . The second part first. Ted kavanaugh to rally the troops he literally was the ringleader. I was on the cnn anniversary alumni call in honor of the 40th anniversary i forgot to mention is part of the reason the book came out when it did because it just happened. And to hear the reference and the adulation all these years later, 40 years later was magnificent. And was a commanding force and got everybody motivated at a time they really werent sure it would work. He wasnt even sure. It was magnificent to see the respect they gave him that was delayed. They never had a chance that was a privilege to witness that. So ted went on Ted Kavanaugh started cnn and part two which became known as headline. So many books afterwords from the time i chose to stop because there was no why and cnn to and Ted Kavanaugh story about the formation is fantastic and after that he went and did special projects and investigative reporting so he wasnt there a terribly long time, but every Single Person along the way who interacted with him is a memorable person i am honored and privileged to have gotten to know him in the course of writing this book. I think its really important. Going on the air june 1s june 1st, 1980 despite the hiccups and with those News Organization how they find all this news but because and then following to a communities speech in march of 1981 so set the scene why was that such a big deal for cnn . That was an amazing day one year after cnn went on the year want on went on the air. That was still not that many homes that could receive it and so that with the animosity and the jealousy and the disbelief part of the networks to lead to a perfect storm when the president was shot and the white house crew was always with the president in this event for cnn was not allowed to be a part of that pool so the speech he happened to be giving that was a time filler that cnn needed a lot of at that point. I detail the story in the book but it was a day that put cnn on the map in the minds of the press corps to help make them aware of the dangers introduced because of 24 hour news and the immediacy that we have not seen in immeasurable form since kennedy was shot. So go on you turn on youtube and watch cronkite talk about the shooting and subsequent death of kennedy. And you get a flavor of why 24 hour news is a very dangerous as well as riveting and convening force. The day president reagan was shot peoples worst fears as a sporting event as it was unfolding and the inaccuracies and attendance issues as a result and the cascading effect to be delivered instantly. Living instantaneously and constantly to our peril and detriment. You cannot fact check in realtime so the whole idea the news not reporting and its aftermath for a while it was unfolding was one of the things reese really wanted to do. This is the big question readers are left with. After decades. And then to create significance and with the breaking news breaking all the time. This is something we should celebrate. I avoided in the book because i felt it was important with this situation i am right now but and we dont have dialogues anymore thats why welcome this conversation with you. And then to be debilitated our society and i am very sad about it. And those in the media but i am so grateful not to be working in media right now and i juggle with the impact i enjoy writing the history of it because only shut down the polarization and to the News Business be cnn. Because the television and since its inception. On the creation of fast food and the woman who took the money and gave it away i would say the same thing back then. And why we became enamored eating food out of packages as we ran around but i can explain how it happened and understanding it to make us smarter and hopefully more thoughtful human and consumer. And then you take it from and for those who havent read it and set the tone for television and news if you look at that arc the last 40 or 50 or 60 years you get you get a hardcore sense of society and media have broken down. And thats part of what happened in that story. What was going on in the forties when people cannot keep their eyes off human interest. And now cannot keep their eye off the political pack to be chewed over and over. And whether or not ted watches channel. But then to find he was a conservative and how over time it morphed into this institute to be filed from the seventies and eighties. It takes somebody of a certain age that politics did not use to enter into would never have produced the news nixon felt it was to liberals back in the late sixties and early seventies and i point out he was a conservative at the time we started cnn i wanted people to see it wasnt about politics he didnt start it with our mission he needed to have a political agenda for the fourth. But that maybe there was undercurrent and realized that isnt the case. In 1996 when fox started that is when cnn had to shuffle and respond to competition. And that that words accuracy. What is news . A little girl in a while . The shuttle exploding and the aftermath . What is news . When fox came along with the decided point of view, that forced cnn to scramble and of course that is a whole other book of itself that i am sure how it has been written. I will not read it but we loved it. So that Political Force these channels have become. Ted turner used to wandering around the studio hitting on women saying racist things he would be canceled today. This book is at a time when things were different for many reasons. Because what does ted turner think what happened and people who were there during the early days and how they feel . And those that were there at the beginning but i will say i noticed and social media and talking to people. What news and cable news had become that was just in an thinkable construct back then you might have a commentator but you might not have we had today which was a decided point of view from fox and msnbc those are sad and disillusioned and to find it unwatchable. And to find that everybody is proud to have contributed. And then with henry ford in the car but it turns out to be a problem raising percent as well. Were covering that in the very beginning of the web that was a thrilling time for always asking the questions of the impact. And sprung forth because of it. So it is important to talk about how the cell phone changed our lives and even better and richer and distracted us and fractured us. I dont know if im answering your question. And it has even called. And something and never really addressed ted turner the sailor the yacht men and the winner of the americas cup. And that part of his life and then when things in a determined way. Every single day i was writing this book and even now i get chills thinking about it. And if he was run out of today as many men would have been but if you think about the way ted turner lived his life it was so large we should all have a fraction of excitement and all he had in his life. If you can see any of those homes they are a complete and total for all to see him young and hansen without his shirt on and other handsome men. And then engineering creation working so hard together it is so exciting to see and then at the baseball game a few days later screaming his lungs our chewing tobacco, he lived life to the absolute fullest and that man sees the moment and he took the needs and so to understand him as a complex character so i look for people i want to look at and say that he knows he lived his life. He lived it. I do know his dementia has progressed did you talk to him . I try there so much you wrote and speeches he gave knowing the state he is in, it just seems almost pointless and cruel and youre going back to a moment in time. I wish i could of known him when he was younger so no i did not. I know theres a movie deal in the works and i can go on forever and not in your control would you have any inkling who would play ted . I am such a popculture dents i dont have a clue but the people who did buy the rights mentioned too bad that George Clooney wasnt a little bit younger because he wouldve been a perfect ted turner but i am so bad i welcome everyone suggestions not that i have anything to do with it but it would be so much fun. What about Ted Kavanaugh and bill . That is as important to me and i hope it gets done. And a sizing to get bookplates of anyones assigned book i will be happy to get one to them. What a pleasure speaking with you. I really appreciate it and also to be here. And unbelievable story we did not get to you can buy her book there is a link in the chat will also broadcast excerpts this coming friday 11 00 oclock a. M. So on wednesday jessica will be interviewing heather and those and conversation about the south and i will be back on tuesday july 21st to talk about life and the transition. Thank you all for joining us a try to get in as many questions as i could. Thank you so much. Good evening everyone. Thank you for joining us tonight i am pleased to present this event for the new book vanguard. Thank you for joining us virtually
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