In a scenario that typifies the new-media-meets-traditional-media dialog, Mashable founder Pete Cashmore took the stage at today’s Social Good Summit to interview Ted Turner, the media mogul who founded CNN.
Their conversation covered interesting territory — which media organizations are doing a better job than others at bringing information to the masses in the digital age, why gossip rags are socially insignificant, how media can be leveraged to affect better human conditions and much more.
Of course, a Ted Turner interview wouldn’t be complete without a few of his characteristically strong epigrams. “We really should get rid of the armed forces completely. Costa Rica did it 50 years ago, and no one’s beating on them,” he told the audience. He continued to say, “War is obsolete. You end up bombing your customers.”
Turner and Cashmore also tackled such highly politicized issues as nuclear proliferation (which he called our world’s “single greatest threat”) and population control as well as more business- and media-related topics. Turner talked about CNN’s early days and the difficulty of monetizing digital media, and he expanded on his previous statement that print media was “an obsolete way of distributing information.”
Check out this fascinating interview with a fascinating character in the American media landscape, and let us know what you think in the comments. (Note: The interview begins about six minutes into this clip.)
Disclosure: Mashable has a content syndication partnership with CNN.
Reviews: Mashable
More About: interview, pete cashmore, social good, social good summit, ted turner, trending
For more Social Media coverage:
- Follow Mashable Social Media on Twitter
- Become a Fan on Facebook
- Subscribe to the Social Media channel
- Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad