Ted Turner made his mark across media and entertainment as a trailblazing entrepreneur. Nowhere was his impact more profound than in journalism with the launch of CNN . Ted Turner was also nothing short of a gift to the journalists who covered his long run in the public eye.

Turner, the media mogul who died May 6 at the age of 87, was always colorful copy. The cable TV visionary launched the world’s first all-news channel on June 1, 1980, forever changing the cadence and process of newsgathering. With a flick of the switch, Turner created the 24/7 news cycle.…