Abstract
In November 1991, ABC’s Primetime Live aired an investigative report targeting Robert Tilton’s television ministry. This chapter highlights the report’s tabloid-esque style, and in particular material intended to amuse viewers at Tilton’s expense. This included “video proof texts,” short clips of the preacher produced by the Trinity Foundation, an anti-televangelist ministry that collaborated with Primetime Live. Tilton’s troubles would spur the growth of his “unofficial” ironic fan club, which expanded its publishing efforts and hosted a “tribute” night to the televangelist, during which attendees playfully participated in the unfolding scandals. This event also featured the screening and sale of an especially sought-after participatory media artifact based on the preacher—the Tilton “fart tape”—the origins of which are revealed.
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Bekkering, D.J. (2018). A Fan Club, a Fart Tape, and a Tabloid Scandal. In: American Televangelism and Participatory Cultures. Contemporary Religion and Popular Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00575-7_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00575-7_3
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-00574-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-00575-7
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