Ted Turner, founder of the CNN cable news network, is to leave the Time Warner board, ending a rich and sometimes turbulent era in the history of the world's largest media company.
Mr Turner's announcement comes one week after Time Warner's chief executive, Richard Parsons, fended off a challenge from Carl Icahn and a group of dissident shareholders who were intent on ousting him, and breaking the company into four separate entities.
In spite of an outspoken nature, which earned Mr Turner the nickname "The Mouth of the South", he kept a low profile during the Icahn battle even as Steve Case, the former Time Warner chairman, publicly endorsed the break-up plan.
In a statement released yesterday, Mr Turner, who remains the company's largest investor, with nearly 32 million shares, said that he had reached his decision after much deliberation.
As part of a settlement agreement with Mr Icahn, Time Warner has committed to appointing at least two new independent directors.
Mr Turner became a media icon after the success of CNN, the world's first 24-hour news channel, which he founded 21 years ago amid a chorus of critics who dubbed it "Chicken Noodle News".
