Diseases occurring in fresh water fish populations kill countless fish every year. Although the results of most biological fish samplings show that the average fresh water fish is healthy, a small percentage of every fish population is not. This portion of the population is typically spread out - not confined to any one section of lake, river or stream. However, widespread fish kills do occasionally occur in localized areas. These incidents have occurred in North Carolina for hundreds of years, but they have become more common in recent decades. Scientists still do not have all the answers to these bizarre fish kills.

Not long ago, studies conducted in several river basins of North Carolina, such as the Neuse River basin, targeted a toxic parasite called dinoflagellate Pfiesteria as a leading suspect in a recent rash of fish kills. Then, some scientists proposed that humans were becoming ill due to contact with the Pfiesteria microbe. Scientists claim that this fatal flesh eating microbe spreads easily from fish to fish, and that humans might become sick from eating the infected fish or extended contact to infected water. However, some scientists are skeptical about recent findings from a series of studies done by UNC-CH and NC State professors. A scientific debate is unfolding in the state of North Carolina.

Many of the dissenting scientists claim that Pfiesteria poses little threat to humans, and that its presence in North Carolina is exaggerated. So what, or who, is causing widespread fish kills in North Carolina and the southeastern United States, in general? What are the real facts about Pfiesteria? Can it really make humans sick? How big of a concern should fish kills be to residents of the southeastern U.S.?

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On January 29th AOL-Time Warner, the media giant and parent company of household names like America On-Line, Time, HBO, CNN and TBS announced a single year world record loss of $100 billion. (1)
That's shocking news, but perhaps even more unbelievable is the announcement that accompanied the financial disclosure: Vice Chairman Ted Turner is stepping down from the media monster that he helped create. (1)
Of course, Turner is no stranger to the spotlight, so perhaps audience members shouldn't be too surprised at yet another surprising move by Mr. Turner.
He began his business career by taking over his father's billboard company. By 1976 Turner had founded a TV station (WTBS) that would one day evolve into the Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) - the first cable "superstation" to provide programming to countless small cable stations through the use of satellite technology. In 1976 he bought the Atlanta Braves baseball team; in 1977, a portion of the Atlanta Hawks basketball team. By 1980, stocked with a wallet getting fatter by the hour, Turner was ready for a new adventure: a 24-hour news network. Questioned, even mocked by critics in the early years, CNN became a household name by the end of the Gulf War. In fact, many media scholars credit the station with helping to change the way news is delivered in this country as well as around the world.(2)
The decade of the 1990s saw Turner's estimated worth skyrocket. In 1996 Turner's TBS merged with Time Warner to form the largest media related business in the world, and in 1997 "Captain Outrageous" pledged to donate a whopping $1 billion to the United Nations program by the year 2007.(2) Unfortunately, AOL-Time Warner was hit hard by the deflating economy. Some critics question Turner's decision, but having already lost over $1.5 billion in the last year alone, can anyone really blame him?(1) Regardless, it should be fun to see what the "Mouth of the South" has planned next.

NOTES:
(1)Betsy Stark, "AOL/Time Warner Ted Turner is Stepping Down After Posting Losses in Excess of $100 Billion," Good Morning America, 30, January 2003. Available [Online]: Lexis-Nexis [Accessed: 02 February, 2003].

(2)"Turner, Ted." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. © 1994, 2000, 2001, 2002 on Infoplease4Teachers. © 2002 Family Education Network. 3 Feb. 2003
<http:teachers.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A089757.html>.

Title of Web page: "Turner"
Web address: http://www.turner.com/
Brief Description: The home page for Turner Broadcasting System (TBS). Lots of information about various networks and programs owned by Ted Turner.
Source of website: Turner Broacasting System, Inc.

Title of Web page: "Ted Turner: Media Mogul and Philanthropist"
Web address: http://abcnews.go.com/reference/bios/turner.html
Brief Description: A brief biography that covers some of Turner's more colorful moments in the recent past.
Source of Web site: ABC News

World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, 30, January 2003. Available [Online]: Lexis-Nexis [Accessed: 02 February, 2003].