When news broke of the passing of Cable News Network (CNN) pioneer Ted Turner Wednesday morning, it immediately took me back to 1997. I had been working for several years as a reporter and anchor at Telearuba, and since the channel had an agreement with CNN, a person from the channel could have the opportunity to do a 10-week internship at CNN. Management policy at the time would not finance this experience. CNN did not object, opting to break their own rule and finance the internship themselves (US$ 20,000). And so I embarked for Atlanta for 10 weeks to intern among the greats. Learning anchoring, preparing morning news programs, and hitting the streets with a crew to produce weekly reports. It was a never-ending series of televised news experiences.
One of the highlights of that time was the encounter with the giant himself, founder Ted Turner. I knew about the meeting and went prepared. I approached the sitting government of Aruba and obtained an official gift to give Turner if the moment arrived. That moment came, but not as we had planned. Only six of us could meet him, sit at a table, and converse. We talked and talked. I told him about Aruba. He was impressed by my mastery of languages and remarked that for this reason, we should have sent Tito to cover wars around the world, since he defends languages so well.
Suddenly, Turner stood up and left, leaving us speechless. We all had gifts for him, but the moment to present them hadn’t arrived. I took courage, broke protocol, and walked up to him to offer my gift from Aruba. Right then, he had his representative take our photo. Turner was surprised, commenting, “You are a feisty one, Mr. Aruba. I like that!” before disappearing.
During my time at CNN, it was obvious how much power Turner held. He was very active; when he walked into the studio, you knew it right away. The sensation, the nervousness—Turner is in the building. It was surely a beautiful moment, which I remember today at the passing of the legendary news pioneer. I must also say that thanks to Ted Turner, I was able to present various reports about Aruba on CNN, because it was HIS idea to launch the CNN World Report program, against all advice from his people. Every week, Aruba could be seen around the world through these reports. Among the reports, I recall interviewing the legendary Aruban Robert Jean’Dor during the Aruba Jazz & Latin Festival when it was still at the Renaissance Hotel arena. My first report for CNN was from Tierra del Sol, and a very remarkable one was about students from the International School of Aruba. Memories that stay with you forever. Thank you, Ted Turner. Thank you, CNN. An experience that no one can take away.
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