Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld launched CNN in 1980 as the first 24-hour television news channel.
The Cable News Network began broadcasting on June 1, 1980, from its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Turner supplied the vision and financial backing, while Schonfeld became CNN’s founding president and helped shape its operational model. The channel initially faced skepticism because many viewers and advertisers doubted that continuous news coverage could succeed.
CNN changed the television news business by treating news as an around-the-clock service rather than a set of scheduled bulletins. Its use of live reporting and correspondents around the world became especially influential during major international events.
CNN is sometimes confused with later cable news launches such as MSNBC and Fox News Channel. Those networks came afterward. The key distinction is that CNN pioneered the dedicated 24-hour television news format in the United States, beginning in 1980.