Ted Turner: An Influence I Never Realized

Turner, Ted (with Bill Burke). (2008). Call Me Ted. New York: Grand Central Publishing.

This is exactly what you want from a good memoir: the book gives you insights into Turner’s life, his perceptions of what happened at various points in his career, and the writing is as unique, direct and as colorful as Turner’s public image. He discusses his own upbringing, such as being sent to a boarding school at age four, with a casual acceptance that says a lot about how he has been able to achieve what he has, as well as the personal costs. It is then no surprise that military culture, military schools, and strict discipline from his father jump out as the main influences. His discussion fighting authority and then accepting it is a great model to anyone faced with external obstacles.

The path of Turner’s business success, from billboards to yachting to local television to baseball to cable to CNN and beyond, is an entertaining story of a driven man that is told with   Turner acknowledging the balance of hard word, good luck and risk taking that got him there. The book addresses Turner’s slow shift from military strong conservative to liberal environmentalist is fascinating but not fully fleshed out. Iit is telling that Ted credits meeting people from around the world as recognizing a shared humanity that spurred  change in himself.

These same experiences led to Turner’s work in preserving the environment, reclaiming lands in the American west, and his interest in saving the bison. The appendix contains his “Eleven Voluntary Initiatives” about controlling our impact on the planet that are worth studying.

The book has personal anecdotes. It discusses Ted’s concern while raising his children that they not become like so many other children of wealthy parents. Ted also discusses his marriages, and takes responsibility, but it is not a confessional or demonstrative tell-all. All in all I have more respect for Ted Turner and his accomplishments than before I read the book; his public persona and current political associations caused me to make judgments that the book put into better perspective.

The impression Ted wants to create, as well as the book’s title, are born out by the one experience I have had in meeting Ted Turner. I was eating dinner at the Ted’s Montana Grill in downtown Atlanta in the Turner Foundation Building and Ted was there. He was friendly to all the restaurant patrons, taking time to talk with them and he made an effort to make a connection with the people. There was a large group of girl scout leaders presetn that he chatted at length with, took pictures with them, and I remember actually hearing him say to the ladies, “Call Me Ted.”