Media mogul Ted Turner, who pioneered the modern 24-hour news culture when he launched the CNN channel, has died at the age of 87, the network has announced.

Turner launched Cable News Network as the first dedicated rolling news channel, in 1980, which soon became a central part of the media landscape.

"Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgement," CNN CEO and chairman Mark Thompson said in a statement.

"He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN. Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world."

CNN initially struggled, but proved its worth by providing speedy and continuous coverage of stories like the assassination attempt on US President Ronald Reagan in 1981, and the Challenger space shuttle disaster in 1986.

The network truly came of age with its rolling updates on the 1990-1991 Gulf War.

CNN was far from Turner's only outlet. He began his career by taking over the successful family billboard company when his father took his own life, then bought a radio station in Atlanta, Georgia.

Within a decade, that station had become the foundation of the Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) and its boss was one of the United States' biggest media moguls.