Christine Chubbuck, 29 was a TV news reporter for Channel 40, WXLT-TV station.
She had been depressed for some time, the main source of which was apparently “her focus on her lack of relationships.” Her mother later said that it was due to “her personal life was not enough”. She complained to colleagues that she was going to be 30, yet she was still a virgin who never went on more than 2 dates with men. Her colleagues noted that she could be “brusque and defensive” and that she was “self-deprecating, criticizing herself constantly and rejecting any compliments she was given.”
On 15th July 1974, she turned up for work with a .38 revolver and put it below her desk.
The first 8 minutes of her program started normally enough. She covered a few national news stories. Then the story turned to one about a local restaurant shooting the day before. There was a technical problem with the videoclip about the restaurant, and Christine shrugged it off, before saying:
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.
Then, unbelieveably, she took out the pistol and shot herself behind her right ear. As a result, she violently fell forward. The technical director faded slowly to black.
Jean Reed was handling the videocameras that morning and she thought it was a prank until she saw Chubbuck’s twitching body.
To cover, the TV station immediately filled in with a standard Public Service tape, followed by a movie.
Chubbuck was taken to hospital and pronounced dead 14 hours later.
She was cremated. Her family managed to get a court order preventing the release of the videotape of her suicide.
Source
Wikipedia
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