I managed to get out to UNC in time for Ted Turner to take the stage at UNC’s Memorial Hall. What followed was not so much of a speech as it was two old friends on stage reminiscing. Across from Turner was Pat Mitchell, who not only used to work for Turner but also shares grandchildren with him.
I came to hear Ted Turner’s wisdom, to hear him say something that was on everyone’s mind but no one dared so speak. Alas, I left disappointed. There were no real bombshells, no real news. Could it be the Mouth of the South lost some of his bark now that he’s 69?
Mitchell should know Turner well enough by now but at times she seemed challenged to engage him in conversation. Mitchell was suffering from laryngitis and was at times a little squeaky. Even so, Turner seemed to frequently ask her to repeat things the rest of us could clearly hear (and he was right next to her). I don’t know if his hearing is suffering now or he tied on a few at their lunch at Durham’s Ted’s Montana Grill restaurant, but it didn’t seem he was fully engaged for whatever reason.
I arrived late and got shuttled to the balcony, though there were apparently plenty of seats on the lower level. I spent some time crafting my question to Turner. When Mitchell abruptly directed the crowd to ask questions, I had to hustle down to the stage level. Two questions got asked. I waited patiently near the front row (albeit out of Mitchell’s field of view) for Mitchell to ask for any closing questions but none were solicited.
Bang. End of “talk.” By my watch the whole thing lasted 40 minutes. I never got to ask my question.
For posterity’s sake, my question was:
As you know, the presidential election season is in full swing. To get themselves heard, candidates must raise enormous amounts of money, most of which is contributed by special interests.
As a veteran broadcaster and social activist, do you support providing free airtime to political candidates over the public airwaves?
I thought was a pretty good question, and I thought Turner’s answer would tell a lot about his loyalties. I would’ve loved to hear him answer it in front of an audience but I missed my chance. I kicked myself on the way home, grumbling how five years in sales hasn’t made me aggressive enough when I need it. Perhaps I was lulled into congeniality by the genteel wine-and-cheesiness of Carolina’s campus, I don’t know. I had the chance and the chance is over.
One thing I did learn from being there was that Jim Carrey’s Ted Turner impression from In Living Color’s hilarious skit Ted Turner’s Very Colorized Classics was spot-on.
On another note, TBS used to have its own low-budget comedy sketch show called Tush, starring TBS’s own resident funnyman, Bill Tush. Future Designing Women and Saturday Night Live star Jan Hooks was on the show, too. Glad to see Bill Tush has a blog now and licensed it with Creative Commons.