Christine Chubbuck Suicide Video (Recorded in 1974)

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 a read 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 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 non-chalantly 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 the first home video recorder was released in the early 1960s, 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.