who pioneered a new type of broadcasting by creating the first television superstation
Superstation Cable television providers in smaller municipalities and rural areas sought a foothold by "importing" signals from larger nearby or distant cities for their customers. Anxious for more viewers, the stations assisted by relaying their signals by wire or microwave transmission to these towns. These stations, especially independents that were owned by Gaylord Broadcasting – such as WVTV (channel 18) in Milwaukee, KSTW (channel 11) in Seattle, KTVT (channel 11) in Fort Worth–Dallas and KHTV (channel 39, now KIAH) in Houston, which all served their respective states with entertainment programming via these connections – became the first "superstations," on a regional basis.
Television news in the United States The advent of cable television in the United States led to the eventual birth of cable news. On June 1, 1980, Ted Turner launched CNN, the first 24-hour cable news operation. The station gained reputation significantly with its 1991 coverage of the Gulf War.