Charles E. Shepard's Investigative Reporting

Charles E. Shepard's investigative reporting of television evangelist Jim Bakker and his Praise The Lord/People That Love ministry won for The Charlotte Observer the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for meritorious public service. Unprecedented in its scope, Shepard's reporting forced Bakker's resignation in 1987 by exposing PTL's scandalous payoff of Jessica Hahn—and then helped thwart Bakker's secret plan to return to power.

About Forgiven

In Forgiven, Shepard analyses how Bakker won the allegiance of so many, as he details Bakker’s early years and PTL’s birth, blossoming, and headline-making decline. Truly a landmark work, Forgiven delves beneath the PTL scandal to illuminate the fascinating inner workings of a major TV ministry, the hazards of the strange alliance between television and church, and the power of television in our culture.

This edition includes new and updated material on the trial, sentencing, and imprisonment of Jim Bakker.