Bob Turner

Bob Turner is the newly elected Republican Congressman from New York City (Brooklyn/Queens) who won in a special election on September 13th, 2011. He currently serves on the Foreign Affairs (Middle East subcommittee), Homeland Security, and Veteran Affairs committees.

Bob has lived his entire life in the neighborhoods of the 9th District. He was raised in Woodhaven as the eldest of three sons, and raised his own family in Richmond Hill. He now resides in Rockaway Point. Three of his five children—and six of his 13 grandchildren—also live in the 9th District.

Bob spent 40 years of his career in the highly competitive television industry. As President, CEO or Chairman, Bob has started up and managed companies large and small. While his family life was centered on the 9th District, Bob’s career took him around the globe as he conducted business and formed programming partnerships in places from Tbilisi to Delhi, Manila to Moscow.

Bob was President and Chief Executive Officer of Pearson PLC’s North American television operations and special adviser to the London-based company after its acquisition of All American Communications. Bob’s task at Pearson was the integration of the U.S. unit into the larger international company and setting strategies to grow the television company into the future. In accomplishing this, he reorganized and redirected many of the company’s larger assets, including Baywatch ($1 billion in total revenues) and launched new programs from the company’s library of formats including Family Feud and To Tell the Truth which are still in production.

Bob arrived at Pearson when his second start-up, Orbis Entertainment was acquired by Pearson. Orbis Entertainment’s business was the export of talk show formats to the European marketplace where he was successful in launching six television talk shows in two years.

Prior to Pearson, Bob served for five years as President and CEO of Multimedia Entertainment, a division of the media conglomerate of newspapers, television stations, cable systems and television programming, Multimedia, Inc. As CEO of the entertainment division, Bob oversaw the hit television programs, The Phil Donahue Show ($85 million in annual revenues), The Sally Jesse Raphael Show ($45 million), The Jerry Springer Show, ($50 million) and also established a successful television motion picture company. Turner was also one of the five-member corporate team that organized and executed the sale of Multimedia to Gannett Corporation for $2.1 billion.

Before Multimedia, Bob created and ran his first start-up, Orbis Communications, which distributed advertiser-supported programming for a variety of large advertisers, including Proctor and Gamble. For P&G, he acquired the Time-Life movie library of 212 titles and created the P&G Movie Network which generated more than $90 million annually. For Orbis, Bob also created the advertising sales company IAS which sold the national advertising for programs produced by Columbia Television and 20th Century Fox Television. Four years after its creation, Turner sold Orbis Communications to Carolco Pictures where he continued as President until he left to join Multimedia.

Bob also served as President of LBS Communications, a division of Grey Advertising. At LBS, he acquired the Columbia Television network property, Family, which had never before been distributed in syndication and created a daytime barter network for the series, generating $40 million over three years. Bob then followed a similar model and created a barter network for new episodes the MGM show, Fame, generating $70 million over four years.

In perhaps his biggest success in creating value in the television marketplace, as Director of Advertising for Bristol-Myers Company, Bob commissioned the production of the Leonard Nimoy series, In Search Of, which became a major advertising vehicle for Bristol-Myers and eventually reached 144 episodes. To-date, on an initial investment of $15 million, In Search Of has generated more than $200 million.

Bob was also the first General Manager of CBS Cable.

Bob Turner has served on many industry boards and committees, including the Board of Directors of the National Association of Television Programming Executives (NATPE), the television committee of the Association of National Advertisers, the Board of the Advertising Research Council, and was a founder and the first president of the Association of Syndicated Television Advertisers. He is currently an ownerpartner of a hotel in Orlando, Florida and served on the Board of Directors of Readspeak Inc. and Liberty Imaging Inc., and as a trustee of probono organizations such as the Achilles Track Club and Family Focus Adoption Services.

Family
Married to Peggy Turner—a foster care nurse in a special needs unit—for 47 years 
Raised 5 children and “adoring our 13 grandchildren.” 

Education
Attended St. Thomas The Apostle Grammar School in Woodhaven, NY 
Went to Richmond Hill High School in Richmond Hill, NY 
Graduated from St. John's University with a B.A. in history, having worked his way through college. 
Attended St. John’s University of Business evening sessions 
U.S. Army Veteran - Rank SP5

For more information about Bob's campaign, please visit his website: www.turnerforny.com