There’s no question: Ted Turner was an icon who fundamentally reshaped how Americans consume news.

His passing, announced by Turner Enterprises on May 6, offers the media industry and news consumers alike a chance to mourn, reflect on his life and reconsider the industry he built – along with its influence on the world, for better and for worse.

Turner's life is that of a storied legend. He was once married to movie star Jane Fonda, owned the Atlanta Braves and became the second-largest individual landowner in North America. He leaves behind five children, 14 grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and a $2.5 billion fortune. If Turner wasn’t the epitome of a free-market capitalist, it’s hard to imagine who was.

But as a journalist, his most consequential decision as a businessman and entrepreneur was launching Cable News Network, or CNN, in 1980 – a singular idea that permanently transformed news, audiences and media consumption.

Without CNN, there's no Fox News

It’s hard to overstate the impact a 24-hour news network has had on how America, and the world, consumes information.

“He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN. Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand,” Mark Thompson, chairman and CEO of CNN........

© USA TODAY