End may near for Calif. evangelical radio network

End may near for Calif. evangelical radio network

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The end may be near for a California evangelical radio network used by a preacher to predict — incorrectly — the apocalypse.

The Contra Costa Times reports that Oakland-based Family Radio has sold its three largest radio stations and laid off longtime staff members. Tax records show Harold Camping’s nonprofit network saw its net assets drop to $29.2 million by the end of 2011, from a net worth of $135 million four years earlier.

Former and current insiders tell the newspaper donations have dropped almost 70 percent since Camping’s Rapture prediction proved incorrect last year.

Camping convinced thousands of followers that the world would end, only to later post an online letter conceding he had no evidence of an impending apocalypse and will no longer predict global doom.