01/08/2013 Christine Chubbuck Suicide Video (Recorded in 1974) - Lost Media Wiki

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The late Christine Chubbuck.

Added by Dycaite

On July 15, 1974, reporter Christine Chubbuck was set to air her morning program, Suncoast Digest on Channel 40 (WWSB, formerly known as WXLT-TV). She confused staff by stating

that she had to recite a newscast first, something that she never normally did before her program. The first 8 minutes of the newscast went ahead with complete normalcy, until Chubbuck

reported on a story that had happened the previous day; a shooting at a local restaurant.

When the news footage queued to play jammed and didn't run, Chubbuck (who we now know was suffering heavily from

depression) nonchalantly turned to the camera 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: attempted suicide". She drew a revolver, shot herself

behind the right ear, and fell forward violently, at which point the cameraman faded quickly to black.

Many people who saw the live broadcast rang both the station and the police, many weren't sure if it was a morbid joke, or if

it had actually happened. Some of the WXLT-TV staff even doubted its legitimacy at first. After Chubbuck was rushed to

Sarasota Memorial Hospital hospital, news director Mike Simmons discovered that the papers from which Chubbuck had

been reading her broadcast contained a followup story, written herself, describing her suicide attempt. The followup story read

"TV 40 news personality Christine Chubbuck shot herself in a live broadcast this morning on a Channel 40 talk program. She

was rushed to Sarasota Memorial Hospital", (which she had accurately predicted), "where she remains in critical condition".

The network's master tape was seized as evidence by authorities, and was eventually returned to Chubbuck's family, who are

said to have destroyed it.

As the broadcast aired in 1974, and several primitive forms of videocassette recorders were released in the early 1970s (such

as the U-matic, which came out in 1971), it is entirely possible (albeit unlikely) that another recording exists elsewhere,

although until proof of such a recording is unearthed, the video is generally accepted as being impossible to obtain. Having said that, there are some people who claim to have seen the

footage via a variety of sources including early internet sites, FBI training videos, and Faces of Death knock-offs;[1] however, until any solid proof surfaces, these claims remain nothing more

than hearsay.

References

1. Ongoing Christine Chubbuck thread at findadeath.com, in which various people claim to have seen the footage after its initial 1974 broadcast. Retrieved 05 Jul '13.

Christine Chubbuck Suicide Video (Recorded in 1974)

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