Christine Chubbuck: America’s First On-Air Suicide
Trigger warning: the live TV suicide that was quickly forgotten
It was a seemingly ordinary morning on the 15th of July 1974. Christine Chubbuck got to work and insisted on starting the Suncoast Digest show with a newscast. This wasn’t Christine’s usual way of opening the show but none of her co-workers thought anything of her decision to switch things up. Christine ran through some of the breaking news stories that included a shooting from the previous day. As she gave a rundown of the news, she infamously 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 took out a gun from behind her desk and shot herself in the head. America watched as her body slumped forward and she hit her desk before her body fell to the ground. The station blacked the screen and proceeded to broadcast a movie. But, this wasn’t before Americans had witnessed the gruesome suicide. The WXLT-TV station broadcasting the show was inundated with calls from viewers who wanted clarity on what had just happened.
Christine was rushed to Sarasota Memorial Hospital. The public that had witnessed the shooting had called the emergency services. When Christine…
