When Turner was right

Ted Turner died on Wednesday at the age of 87. The New York Times and other organs of the mainstream media have posted obituaries — the Times obituary is here, CNN’s is here — that cover the highlights of his life. Celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the Turner Classic Movies cable channel back in 2014, I noted that I was a little vague on how Turner came to own the rights to nearly every worthwhile movie ever made. A reader wrote to offer a look back at the ancient history that provides the answer based on his personal involvement in...