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The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

By The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

May 20--Ted Turner's slow slide from power at Time Warner came to a formal close Friday as his final term as a board member ended and he was sent off with a standing ovation at the company's annual meeting in Atlanta.

Turner, plain-spoken as always, took the stage to bid farewell. Though he chose not to stand for re-election, he has long lamented his loss of influence at Time Warner.

And so the severing of his official ties came with a hint of bitterness.

"I've been with the company and its successors for 55 years," Turner told shareholders gathered in a ballroom at the Georgia World Congress Center. "I just wish that in the past five years I could have made a bigger contribution... I didn't have the opportunity."

Turner, 67, will go down in history as the media mogul who created the first "superstation" and founded the landmark cable network CNN. He also became famous -- and infamous -- for his frank pronouncements and eccentric style, all the while carrying out grand philanthropic ambitions.

Turner sold Atlanta-based Turner Broadcasting System to Time Warner in 1996 and steadily lost sway at the media giant. Even so, he remains the company's largest individual shareholder.

In an interview before the annual meeting, Turner was mindful that his days of real influence at Time Warner ended years ago. "This is more symbolic than anything," he said.

Turner was honored by the company Thursday night during a board of directors dinner at the High Museum of Art. Then, during Friday's two-hour annual meeting, his legacy was a recurring theme. The event was held in Atlanta for the first time since 1998; Time Warner is headquartered in New York.

"It is fitting it's in Atlanta, where it all started," Turner said in an interview. "It started here and it ends here."

Dick Parsons, Time Warner's chairman and CEO, called it "an historic day, albeit a sad one."

"Ted Turner was one of the pioneers," Parsons said. "He literally shaped the way we see the world."

Turner sat in a front-row aisle seat as Time Warner played a video tribute to his career, including the days in the early 1980s when CNN seemed, to many, like a bizarre experiment. The video featured glowing comments from the famous, such as former President Jimmy Carter and longtime CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite. Larry King, a fixture at CNN for two decades, praised Turner and also called him "crazy."

When the video ended, the crowd of about 300 broke into applause. Parsons summoned Turner to the stage, read a citation from the board, and let Turner have his final words.

When Turner returned to his seat, he stayed a bit longer, fidgeting at times as Parsons reeled through the normal fare of a corporate annual meeting -- financial results, operational highlights and such.

When the lights dimmed for the showing of a promo for the upcoming "Superman Returns" movie, Turner and his small entourage rose and exited through a door in the front of the room.

If Turner had stayed, he would have heard more praise.

Tom Johnson, former chairman of CNN News Group, was the second person to reach a microphone during time set aside for comments. "There never has been a man like Ted before," Johnson said. "And there never will be another one like him."

Turner's reputation was cemented long ago, whether with Johnson or others. One friend-turned-foe -- Gerald Levin, the former chairman and CEO of Time Warner -- said Turner has "always been ahead of everyone else."

"For Ted, nothing is impossible, and I admire him for that," Levin said in an e-mail to the Journal-Constitution. "He has my enduring respect and, although he doesn't feel it at times, my unconditional love, now and forever."

The men had a falling-out, and Turner once said he wished he'd bought Time Warner "so I could have fired Jerry Levin before he fired me."

John Malone, chairman of Liberty Media, recalled in Turner's tribute video that there was early competition from another upstart news network that meant to rival CNN and CNN Headline News. It folded, and Turner won.

"They ran out of enthusiasm before he did," said Malone, a Turner Broadcasting board member before the company was sold to Time Warner.

Today, Liberty is in talks with Time Warner about acquiring the Atlanta Braves. Turner has said he is disappointed the team his company once owned is being sold, but isn't interested in buying it, either.

As the meeting neared its end, and with Turner long gone, one of his daughters stood to offer a final comment. Laura Turner Seydel said she wished her dad had stayed. "Thank you for honoring Ted today," she said.

Caught on his way back to his downtown Atlanta penthouse, Turner said little more than "there was no need to stay."

Turner's departure from the ranks of Time Warner leadership means his future legacy will be tied to his many pet issues, from promoting environmentalism to preventing the spread of nuclear weapons to tending to his fledgling restaurant chain, Ted's Montana Grill. Turner himself said he is "staying really busy."

His final words to Time Warner shareholders included a quotation of famed newsman Edward R. Murrow.

"Good night, and good luck," Turner said.

By Scott Leith and Maria Saporta. Staff writer Tim Tucker contributed to this article.

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