Christine Chubbuck Tape

I confirmed this with Mollie Nelson back in early February, but kept it quiet because I assumed she wouldn't want people badgering her for the tape. Now it seems she has brought that on herself.

I don't know what game she's playing, or what intent she has, but unless she's just making very unwise decisions then it seems like her ultimate intent is to somehow profit off of her owning the videotape. If her only impetus is recognizing the historical importance of the tape (whether or not it can be argued that it is worthwhile somehow for people to actually see the footage) - then she could have just donated the Quad tape to the Paley Center, or some other reputable and trusted institution, and let them deal with it. Then if anyone from then on contacted her about it she could just say - I donated it to the Paley Center - talk to them. Soon after she wouldn't be bothered by anyone any more.

But instead, she goes on record admitting that the tape did exist and that she has it (which again she could have easily denied outright) but then makes the curious admission that the tape is "in the hands of her lawyers". For what purpose? Why wouldn't she just put it in a bank safety deposit box or some other secure off-site location and tell everyone about that if she was worried about keeping it in the house now that she told everyone she had it.

Are the lawyers investigating what copyright issues may be involved in terms of her selling or licensing the footage? Or if the television station itself could still claim to own the rights to it?

Whatever the reason, I find it interesting that she claims to have held on to the tape "to honor her husband's wishes", however she seems to have forgotten that evidently her husband's wishes also included keeping the existence of such a tape secret, especially while there are immediate members of Christine's family (such as her brother Greg Chubbuck) who are still alive and who would be - and likely will be - very devastated to learn that the tape does in fact exist.. From reading former interviews with Greg Chubbuck, he has said he did not believe such a tape existed and that if it did it was likely destroyed by the police investigating the suicide, as that was the wish of the family.

Robert Nelson kept the existence of the tape a secret for decades and decades, up until his death. Then Mollie gets a hold of the tape and confirms its existence the first chance she gets apparently.

If I were the family of Christine Chubbuck, I would be contacting Mollie Nelson and shaming her into destroying that tape before it is transferred and copied. If it's not then Greg Chubbuck and the rest of her surviving family will have to live out their last years knowing that since the tape exists it WILL eventually resurface and that likely millions of people will eventually get to see it, and that this will become Christine's final legacy - a crass addition to just another clip in a "Faces of Death" type compilation; the cold, unflinching eye of the television camera capturing her sad demise. From what Greg Chubbuck has said in the past, this is the exact opposite of what he wanted.

However, speaking as an archivist and someone who understands the incredible rarity of videotape recordings of local television from as early as 1974, and their need to be preserved for history, I would immediately donate the videotape to the Paley Center or other reputable institution before I even took that phone call or read that e-mail from Greg Chubbuck, so you can at least claim that it is out of your hands now.

Or, if you don't find it morally objectionable to lie for someone else's benefit, then just publicly state that you had the tape destroyed and make sure Christine's family knows this. Then, wait until Greg Chubbuck and any other immediate family pass away, and only then donate it to the Paley Center, so that Greg and anyone else who knew and loved Christine the most will not have to die knowing that her final, tragic cry for help will live on forever through digital media transfers.

Either way, interesting moral and ethical dilemma you got yourself in to here, Ms. Nelson...I do not envy you. At the very least, do yourself and your karma a favor and don't sell the tape or a copy of the tape or license the footage to a documentary for cash.

Rick Klein
President / Chief Curator
The Museum of Classic Chicago Television