The Nation - News from Nov. 17, 1987

The Christian Broadcasting Network said it will cut 145 people from its payroll and slash spending by $9 million in an attempt to balance its budget. It was the third round of layoffs in two years for the Virginia Beach, Va.,-based television ministry founded by Pat Robertson, who is pursuing the Republican presidential nomination. CBN’s finances have been “in a deteriorating situation, a downturn, for many months, about two years,” board Chairman Bob Slosser said on the network’s flagship show, The 700 Club. Pledges have been dropping since 1985, the first year that Robertson said publicly that he might run for President. Slosser blamed the poor economy and the recent sex-and-money-scandal surrounding former television evangelist Jim Bakker as reasons for sluggish donations.