Ellen Sappington papers

Ellen Barnes Sappington has over 40 years of experience in the TV and film industry. From 1982 to 1993, Sappington worked as a writer, producer, and director at Turner Broadcasting System, Inc in Atlanta, GA. There, she started as a news writer and news producer and worked her way to News Promotions and Marketing producer; Sales Promotion producer; and senior writing, producing and directing on all levels; including new channel development (TNT and Cartoon Network). In the early years of CNN (Cable News Network), Sappington worked as a News and Feature writer for all CNN News shows. She worked as a weekend show producer; package producer, reporter, and part-time promotions announcer.

Her on-air promotion projects included TNT Creative Services, TBS On-Air Promotions, Atlanta Hawks, TNT Latin America, Turner Program Services, TBSI, Local Cable Sales, Turner Sports, TNT and Cartoon Network – including the launches, Turner International, Public Affairs Programming and PSA's. Sappington’s special projects and client specific material include 30 second and 60 second commercials and contest promotions with outside commercial clients, long and short form presentations, live events, animation, develop and execute promotional campaigns for Turner Properties, including: the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks, Goodwill Games, Turner Sports, TBSI, Turner International, Turner Properties, H.M.S. Bounty, Omni Hotel and Sports Complex. And her CNN New promotions include serving as manager for CNN Program Reports. She was responsible for creating ideas and developing new ways to increase self-promotion of all CNN News and Feature programs – specifically “Anchor Tags” pitching upcoming shows; CNN promotional spots; special projects and events pertaining to all CNN news and sports programming and events. For her work at Turner, Sappington won the 1989 CETAM Award for “CNN Program Guide” and the 1988 American Women in Radio and Television: Tara Award/On-Air News Promotion Development.

After leaving Turner in 1993, Sappington continued working in the TV and film industry as a managing director for Encore Media Corp. and freelancing as an assistant director and unit production manager.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. was an American television and media conglomerate founded by Ted Turner in 1965. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it merged with Time Warner (later WarnerMedia) on October 10, 1996. The headquarters of Turner's properties are largely located at the CNN Center in Downtown Atlanta, and the Turner Broadcasting campus off Techwood Drive in Midtown Atlanta, which also houses Turner Studios.

Turner is known for several pioneering innovations in U.S. multichannel television, including its satellite uplink of local Atlanta independent station WTCG channel 17 as TBS, one of the first national "superstations," and its establishment of CNN, the first 24-hour news channel. It later launched a sister cable network, TNT, professional wrestling promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the children's channel Cartoon Network, and the movie channel Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Turner South—a network devoted to regional sports and southern lifestyle programming—was launched by Turner in 1999.