EZCNN 易英网

The life and legacy of CNN founder Ted Turner  May 7, 2026

 

What's up, sunshine? Happy Friday Eve. I'm Coy Wire here with your 10 minutes of news for this Thursday, May the 7th of National Teacher Appreciation Week. Have you bought an apple, a flower, or a card for that special mentor in your life? If not, you have one more day.

 

Let's level up our knowledge, stretch our perspective, and just maybe be a little better today than yesterday. Now we do start with some somber news here at CNN World Headquarters. Ted Turner, the OG media maverick and founder of CNN, passed away Wednesday at the age of 87.

 

somber [ˈsɑmbɚ] adj. 严肃的; 忧郁的

Original Gangster (OG in short form) 形容某个领域的鼻祖、元老或开山始祖

maverick [ˈmævǝrɪk] n. 指的是不墨守成规、拥有独立思想且敢于挑战传统的人

 

Turner didn't just build a network. He flipped the script on how the world gets its news. He launched CNN back in 1980, just steps from where we are standing right now on one bold idea.

 

flip the script 不按牌理出牌; 彻底翻盘

 

News shouldn't wait. He wanted it live. He wanted it constant and global, so he created the first ever 24-hour news network.

 

And fun fact, CNN10 was originally his idea. He wanted a not-for-profit news show designed to bring the world straight into classrooms without the divisiveness of modern politics.

 

divisiveness [dǝˈvaɪsɪvnɪs] n. 不和；分歧

 

Nicknamed the Mouth of the South, Turner was as outspoken as he was a visionary, leaving behind a legacy of philanthropy, activism, and a mission to make the world smarter and better informed.

 

outspoken [aʊtˈspokǝn] adj. 坦率的；直言不讳的

 

Our Christiane Amanpour looks back at the man who changed media forever.

 

I dedicate the News Channel for America. Ted Turner, the man who changed the world by creating CNN in 1980.

 

It was the first on-demand global television news channel. Were you trying to create a revolution with 24-7 news, or were you just trying to find another brilliant business opportunity?

 

on-demand 一经要求，在有需求时

 

I thought it through very carefully. That's what I did. I studied the situation and I knew what I was doing. At least I felt like I knew what I was doing. And it turned out that I did.

 

But Ted Turner's accomplishments have an even wider reach than the global network he built, a lifetime of work that put him ahead of the curve with every chance he took. A true renaissance man, Ted Turner defied labels. Yes, he became a billionaire businessman, but he was also a philanthropist, a conservationist, a sports champion.

 

renaissance [ˈrenəsɑns] adj. 文艺复兴的 (形容一个在许多完全不同的领域都展现出卓越才能、知识与成就的人)

 

Aren't they cool? I never get tired of them. And an optimist, as he told me when I visited him on his Montana ranch in 2015, surrounded by his beloved bison, a species he had nearly single-handedly brought back from the brink of extinction.

 

bison [ˈbaɪsṇ] n. 北美野牛；欧洲野牛

single-handedly [ˈsɪnɡḷˈhændɪdlɪ] adv. 独立地；单独地

 

Remember, I'm supposed to be shooting for something that's impossible to have happen in my lifetime.

 

shoot for 争取；为……而努力

 

And he had the Midas touch every time he dreamed the impossible dream. In 1997, he donated a billion dollars to help support the United Nations by creating the United Nations Foundation. It was a jaw-dropping gift that stunned the world, but like many of Turner's endeavors, it made perfect sense to him.

 

Midas touch 点物成金术；点金术

Midas [ˈmaɪdǝs] n.【希神】麦得斯（能点物成金）

jaw-dropping 令人瞠目結舌的

 

As of January, of December 31st, I was worth 2.2 billion. And I looked at it that morning real quick, because I don't have a lot of time to look at my own statement, and I was up to 3.2, because the stock went up so much during the year. So I made it in nine months.

 

I'm only giving up nine months earning it. It's not that big a deal. I'm no poorer than I was nine months ago, and the world is a lot better off.

 

He avidly fought for the eradication of nuclear weapons. In 2001, he co-founded the Nuclear Threat Initiative, an organization that has worked to corral loose-nukes and aims to reduce the weapons of mass destruction in the world. He was a man who pushed boundaries.

 

avidly [ˈævɪdlɪ] adv. 渴望地；热望地

corral [kǝˈræl] n.【美】【口】获得；占有

 

He met with dictators like Fidel Castro. He founded the Goodwill Games, which helped to ease tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War.

 

The skies over Baghdad have been illuminated.

 

illuminate [ɪˈlumǝˌnеt] v. 照亮；照射

 

He insisted CNN must be behind enemy lines in Baghdad to report that side of the first Gulf War, cementing the network as the global leader in breaking news.

 

Before spearheading the media revolution, Ted Turner was a champion sailor, winning the prestigious America's Cup. Later, he bought his adopted hometown baseball team, the Atlanta Braves, and his basketball team, the Atlanta Hawks.

 

champion [ˈtʃæmpɪǝn] adj.【口】第一流的

prestigious [prɛsˈtɪdʒɪǝs] adj. 有名望的

 

A career that wasn't linear, but radiated in so many different directions. A one-of-a-kind true visionary.

 

one-of-a-kind [ˈwʌnǝvǝˈkaɪnd] adj. 独一无二的

 

Pop quiz, hot shot.

 

What is the official state nickname of Colorado? Mile-high state, centennial state, rocky state, or grizzly state?

 

centennial [sɛnˈtɛnɪǝl] adj.百年的；百年纪念的

 

If you say centennial, you get a hundred. Colorado became the 38th U.S. state on August 1st, 1876, nearly 100 years to the day after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, August 2nd, 1776.

 

All right, summer is knocking on the door, but in Colorado, winter said, I'm not done yet, thanks to a late season snowstorm.

 

Parts of the centennial state have seen nearly two feet of snow. Late season storms like this are not too common. It was 75 degrees in Denver just a few days ago. Talk about weather whiplash.

 

whiplash [ˈhwɪplæʃ] n. 鞭打；打击

 

It's May. I'm like, no way is May and it's snowing right now.

 

no way【口】当然不，一点也不，绝不

 

But folks aren't letting this fluky forecast flummox them. High school sports concerts at Red Rocks Amphitheater have all gone on as planned. And while it makes for a surreal scene, this weather's snow joke.

 

fluky [ˈflukɪ] adj. 易变的

flummox [ˈflʌmǝks] v.【口】使困惑；使慌乱

amphitheater [ˌæmfɪˈθɪǝtɚ] n.（露天）圆形剧场（或竞技场）

 

Spurring hazardous conditions on major roadways, widespread power outages are a concern because heavy, wet snow can weigh down trees, especially those that are already in bloom and full of leaves.

 

As AI, artificial intelligence, keeps leveling up, Hollywood is asking a big question. What actually counts as human creativity?

 

level up 升级、提升、精进、改善

 

After months of pressure and petitions from actors and industry officials, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has voted to update its Oscars rules, trying to define how much AI is too much when it comes to award-worthy work. Our Claire Duffy reports.

 

Yes, the Academy, for the first time, updating its rules to address artificial intelligence as we are seeing more and more people in and around Hollywood experimenting with how AI can be used in films and other types of storytelling.

 

Interestingly, according to this rules update, the Academy says that the use of generative artificial intelligence will neither help nor harm the chances of achieving a nomination for a film.

 

But there are two exceptions to that, and I'll read those to you. In the acting category, only roles demonstrably performed by humans with their consent will be considered eligible. And in the writing categories, the rules say that screenplays must be human-authored in order to be eligible.

 

Now, this would seem to imply that an AI actor like Tilly Norwood, who we've talked a lot about, would not be eligible for an Oscar. But I do think there are increasingly going to be edge cases that the Academy is going to have to grapple with. For example, the forthcoming film with the AI replica of Val Kilmer playing a role.

 

edge case 极端案例

 

Val Kilmer did sign on to participate in that film prior to his death, but the role is being played by an AI recreation of him. How would the Academy consider that? I've also spoken with screenwriters who have said they use AI as a sort of writing partner to bounce around ideas.

 

Where exactly do you draw the line between what is written by a human and what is contributed by AI? I do imagine that we will see these rules evolve over time.

 

But in many ways, I think this is a symbolic move by the Academy to underscore the importance of human creativity in this moment when we are seeing AI move into all areas of our lives. Back to you.

 

Today's story, getting a 10 out of 10, a promposal.

 

14 years in the making. Avant Williams, a junior at La Crosse Central High School in Wisconsin, knew since he was a toddler that his prom date one day would be his grandma. His grandmother, Spalla Heller, never got to experience this core high school memory.

 

prom [prɑm] n.【美】【口】（学校的）班级舞会

 

A little girl growing up in Iceland, she'd only ever seen it by watching American TV shows, and she dreamed of going one day. Now an ocean away and decades later, her dream came true.

 

Since I was like a little kid, my grandma's been telling me she wanted to go to prom. It's her dream. And then today, I just feel like I should make that come true.

 

Just taking every inch in and just enjoying every moment.

 

take every inch in 每一寸都不放过; 指彻底利用、占用每一个细小的空间或机会

 

The two arrived alongside Williams' best friend, making this prom night anything but traditional.

 

All right, let's bring it home. In honor of National Teacher Appreciation Week, we are sharing some of the messages you have sent us about the educators, coaches, parapros, and others who make this world a bit of a better place for you.

 

paraprofessional [ˌpærǝprǝˈfɛʃǝnḷ] n. 助教; 辅助教育人员; 特教助理 (缩写为 parapro)

 

First up, Mrs. Moon at Warm Springs Middle School in Murrieta, California. Your students wrote, Mrs. Moon is known for advocating for every single student on our campus. You will always find her classroom filled with both her own students and other peers who know that room 617 is a safe space where everybody belongs. That is love.

 

And listen to this, a parapro at Lincoln Middle School in Rockford, Illinois, shouting out Mr. Black, saying this is his first year of teaching, and he has already made a meaningful impact on his students. One of the ways he connects with students is by incorporating their interests, especially football, into lessons, such as using sports examples in math. Way to go, Mr. Black.

 

Our last shout out of the day goes to Mrs. Bembry-Peralta at Rafael Hernando Middle School in El Paso, Texas. One of your 14-year-old students writes, she is not just a teacher but a life changer.

 

She teaches us to be proud of ourselves regardless of what life has dealt us. Her praise and confidence in us pushes us to strive for greatness. That is what it's all about.

 

We all should be grateful for the teachers, mentors in our lives. We have achieved nothing in and of ourselves. If we think we have, we're foolish.

 

We're nothing more than conduits of knowledge and energy, and what we have is not for us to possess, it's for us to pass on. Write a note, pick a flower, simply throw up some heart hands for a teacher today, and I will see you right back here tomorrow. I'm Coy Wire, and we are CNN 10.

 

conduit [ˈkɑndʊɪt] n.（连接两地的）管道