Media Moguls: Ted Turner | Episode 2: WTCG—Watch This Channel Grow!
Cable's Origin Story, Ted's UHF Nightmare, TV Innovations, Counter-programming + More—Listen Now! Plus, You Had To Be There: CNN Launches 24/7 News!
“Working in UHF television at that time was like being in the French Foreign Legion.”
- Terry McGuirk
Hi friends,
Hope you’re doing well. It’s been a big week—and we’re just getting started. We dropped the Season 2 finale of You Had To Be There, which covers CNN’s launch in 1980 (more on that below), I joined Dan Runcie on his excellent Trapital podcast to talk all things media moguls, and most exciting of all…
Episode 2 of Media Moguls: The Ted Turner Saga is Live!
Episode 2 takes you inside the chaotic early days of Ted Turner’s TV empire—starting with his bold move to buy WTCG, a failing UHF station in Atlanta just 30 days from bankruptcy. It was hemorrhaging money, had no audience, and didn’t even work on most TVs. So how’d Ted not only keep it alive… but turn it into a success? Listen now to find out!
We’ll break down the unorthodox programming choices that made it work. Plus, we’ll dig into the early days of cable TV—how it started in 1949 as a solution for viewers in remote areas with no broadcast signal, and slowly grew into a major threat to the Big 3 networks, sports leagues, and Hollywood.
Episode 2 is a story of survival, counterintuitive strategies, and yes, a whole lot of luck that changed TV forever.
Listen to Episode 2 of Media Moguls NOW!
Up Next: Ted Turner’s Atlanta Braves and the Sports TV Revolution. Coming in a few weeks!
In the meantime, if you’re enjoying Media Moguls, please rate us 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ & share it with friends, enemies, and/or on social! We’re also posting new YouTube Shorts from each episode—so check those out.
And last, a shameless shot in the dark: I don’t have a publicist, but if you cover media, business, or tech—whether it’s on a podcast, newsletter, or publication—I’d love to connect and chat about Media Moguls.
That’s all for now—thanks again for listening!
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🎧 You Had To Be There: CNN Launches the 24/7 News Cycle
This week, to mark CNN’s 45th anniversary, we published the Season 2 finale of You Had To Be There - CNN Launches the 24/7 News Cycle (6/1/1980).
Listen on: Apple | Spotify | YouTube
We revisited CNN’s bold, low-budget launch—and the birth of 24-hour news. Julia tracked down people who were inside CNN’s Atlanta HQ on Day 1, offering a gripping, behind-the-scenes look at how a scrappy startup changed the future of news media.
It’s a great listen—and a legit David vs. Goliath story. Ted Turner built a 24-hour news network from scratch with his own money in just 11 months, while the Big Three networks were each spending over $100 million a year to produce just 30 minutes of news a day. Epic!
Interviews include:
Richard Roth, CNN original. Reporter in the Gulf War, Tiananmen Square, Fall of the Berlin Wall, and more.
John Huey, Wall Street Journal reporter who covered CNN’s launch in 1980 (later Time Inc’s Editor-in-Chief)
Steven Livingston, Professor and author of The CNN Effect
Jack Lechner, TV/film producer, professor, and multiple-time Jeopardy! champion
Me.
Show Notes: Media Moguls - Episode 2
How Ted Turner turned the worst TV station in Atlanta into the launchpad for his media empire.
In Episode 2 of Media Moguls: The Ted Turner Saga, we dive into the chaotic early days of Ted’s first TV station—his bold move to buy a struggling UHF channel in Atlanta called WJRJ (soon renamed WTCG). It was bleeding cash, had barely any viewers, and wasn’t even available on most TVs. So how did he make sure it didn’t just survive… but thrive?
We’ll also explore how cable TV started from pure necessity—built on giant towers and coaxial cable to serve towns the networks ignored. Plus, the fierce resistance cable faced from Hollywood and the Big Three networks—and how Ted zagged while everyone else zigged. With reruns, wrestling, and relentless hustle, he built a scrappy, low-budget station that put viewers first.
This is the story of tenacity, vision, and entrepreneurial insanity that changed television forever.
More From Hi Barr
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Credits
Writing, research, and production by Web Barr.
Artwork by Dylan Lathrop.
Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant
Sources: Episode 2
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