Q: What happened to all the people involved in the Jim Bakker PTL scandal?
—Frank Burnette, Decatur
A: Bakker, 74, served about five years in prison after being convicted in 1989 on 15 counts of wire fraud, eight counts of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy in a financial scandal involving the PTL Television Network. He was sentenced to 45 years, but it was voided in 1993 and he was paroled the following year. He and his wife, Tammy Faye Bakker, divorced in 1992 and he married Lori Graham Bakker in 1998. Bakker started a new show, called the "Jim Bakker Show" (jimbakkershow.com) in 2003, and it airs on Direct TV and DISH Network channels. Tammy Faye married contractor Roe Messner, returned to TV with "The Jim J. and Tammy Faye Show," appeared on sitcoms, wrote books and battled cancer for about 11 years before dying at the age of 65 on July 20, 2007. Messner, who had been a friend of the Bakkers for years, owns Roe Messner & Associates, which focuses on building churches.
Q: What happened to Charles Gibson on the 7 p.m. news? Diane Sawyer took his place.
—Carolyn Bryant, Atlanta
A: Gibson, who turned 71 on March 9, retired on Dec. 18, 2009, after nearly four years anchoring the "World News with Charles Gibson." ABC executives wanted Gibson to stay and tried to talk him out of the decision. Sawyer replaced him as anchor.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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