June 1, 1980: With only 1.7 million viewers, the first 24-hour news cycle channel CNN was launched right here in Atlanta. The low viewership did not stop Ted Turner’s vision, and within three years, CNN gained over 33 million viewers. Now, CNN reaches hundreds of millions of households worldwide, not to mention passengers at every single gate at Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport.
Source: Library of Congress
Read more from the Goizueta Business Library collection:
Inside the BBC and CNN: Managing Media Organisations
Me and Ted Against the World: The Unauthorized Story of the Founding of CNN