1.   Last year was a mixed bag for the billboard business, Nickinello notes.

2.   Chief among them is Ted Turner, the passionately independent sports and media pioneer who built a family billboard business into a media conglomerate.

3.   His father, Ed Turner, became a millionaire in the billboard business in the South.

4.   The gain was on the sale of its billboard business.

5.   The St. Paul, Minnesota-based company sold its billboard business in August to Outdoor Systems Inc.