Newswoman commits suicide during live broadcast (1975)

[Renew Deal]

Have you ever heard of this? Did you see it live?
____________________________________________________________

On the morning of July 15, 1974, Chubbuck confused co-workers by claiming that she had to read a newscast to open her program, Suncoast Digest, something she had never done before. That morning's talk show guest waited across the studio while she sat at the news anchor's desk.<2> Her news copy actually contained a speculative report of her impending suicide, wherein she conjectured she would be declared dead eleven hours later. She placed a .38 revolver in her bag of puppets and put it beneath her desk.

During the first eight minutes of her program, Chubbuck covered three national news stories and then a local restaurant shooting from the day before. The restaurant was the Beef and Bottle Restaurant at the Sarasota-Bradenton Airport on U.S. 41.<9> The filmreel of the restaurant shooting had jammed and wouldn't run, so Christine shrugged it off and said:

"In keeping with Channel 40's policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts, and in living color, you are going to see another first: an attempted suicide."

She drew out the revolver and shot herself behind her right ear.<2> Christine fell forward violently and the technical director faded slowly to black.<10> Camerawoman Jean Reed later recalled that she thought it had been an elaborate prank, and it wasn't until she saw Chubbuck's twitching body that she realized it was genuine.

The station quickly ran a standard Public Service tape and then a movie. Some television viewers had phoned police, while others phoned the station to inquire if the shooting was faked.<11>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christine_Chubbuck

[kentauros]

1. I hadn't heard of it, so thanks for the link.

The lead up is rather telling:

Three weeks before her suicide she had asked the station's news director if she could do a news piece on suicide. After getting her pitch approved she visited the local sheriff's department to discuss with an officer methods of suicide. In the interview, an officer told her that one of the most efficient ways was to use a .38 caliber revolver with wadcutter target bullets, and to shoot oneself in the back of the head rather than in the temple.

A week before her suicide she told Rob Smith, the night news editor, that she had bought a gun and joked about killing herself on air. Smith later told the Washington Post that he had chided her for the comment.

On July 12, 1974, she had an argument with news director Mike Simmons after he cut one of her stories to cover a shoot-out instead. Robert Nelson, the station owner, had tried to convince staff to concentrate on "blood and guts".

But this is why no one has ever heard of it, or only a handful would have:

Christine's family brought an injunction against WXLT to prevent the release of the 2" quad videotape of her suicide. The Sarasota Sheriff's Department file lists a copy of the tape seized as evidence and later released it to Christine's family along with her possessions.

For the first time since 1974, Greg Chubbuck spoke publicly about his sister in a 2007 E! Entertainment Television special.

[joeybee12]

2. Saw this on some television program...

...it was eerie.

[Haole Girl]

3. omg

That is horrible.

[MrScorpio]

4. Another televised suicide, Budd Dwyer can be seen on the internet

Pretty graphic

[Omphaloskepsis]

6. That is exactly what I was thinking.

[Maine-ah]

7. just saw that last week, someone posted it here. rather gruesome.

[supernova]

9. I watched that when it happened

It's hard to think you're seeing what your seeing.

:puke:

[MountainLaurel]

10. I barely missed watching that

My brother and I were fighting over channels at my grandmother's house (we stayed with her when we weren't in school).

[Maraya1969]

11. What injustices what he talking about? I watched it twice and I don't

want to watch it again and I missed what he was complaining about (in case you know....don't go watching it for my behalf k?)

[Jamastiene]

13. Wiki his name.

It goes into details about the corruption he had gotten caught doing.

[Initech]

5. Wow, that is fucked up.

[Oeditpus Rex]

8. Not much of a team player, was she?

If she'd told the news director or station manager a week in advance, they could've promoted it and gotten a ginormous rating.

[kedrys]

12. Oh no you didn't

:spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank:

Because someone has to.

[originalpckelly]

14. She killed herself in part because she was still going to be a virgin at 30.

Man, if only I had been alive back then, we could have prevented a suicide.