being available to only about 60 percent of American
homes and having a difficult time deciding which
demographic to target. UPN began with family-
oriented material, then tried to appeal to young
males with science-fiction programming, moved to
African American shows, and ended up with no clear
identity. There were also problems in the relation-
ship between Paramount and Chris-Craft. Their dif-
fering management styles resulted in budget prob-
lems, contract errors, programming conflicts, and
general confusion at the network.
By 1999, UPN was operating at a deficit of about
$500 million and was finally restructured. In 2000,
Viacom/Paramount bought out Chris-Craft and
purchased CBS, becoming Paramount Network.
The UPN/CBS network continued until September
15, 2006, when it merged with its major competitor,
the WB, to become the CW.
Impact Although it did not live up to its original
promise, UPN proved that there was room for
more than just the original major networks. The net-
work successfully marketed TV wrestling, African
American shows, science fiction, and niche demo-
graphic programming. Although UPN stopped
broadcasting in 2006, its merger with the WB re-
sulted in the very successful CW, a station partially
targeted to teenage girls, a new and lucrative market
segment.
Further Reading
Daniels, Susanne, and Cynthia Littleton.Season Fi-
nale: The Unexpected Rise and Fall of the WB and
UPN.New York: HarperCollins, 2007.
Kimmel, Daniel M.The Fourth Network: How FOX
Broke the Rules and Reinvented Television.Chicago:
Ivan R. Dee, 2004.
Leslie Neilan
See also Cable television; Television; TV Parental
Guidelines system; WB television network.
U.S. Capitol shooting
The Event A man storms into the Capitol, killing
two on-duty police officers
Date July 24, 1998
Place Washington, D.C.The first shooting at the Capitol in forty-four years, the at-
tack raised questions about the medical treatment of the
mentally ill and reaffirmed the importance of strict security
measures.On July 24, 1998, Russell Eugene Weston, Jr.
stormed into the U.S. Capitol wielding a handgun
and shot two Capitol police officers before being
shot himself. Officer Jacob Chestnut was shot in the
back of the head as Weston ran toward the offices of
Tom DeLay, House majority whip. Detective John
Gibson, an agent guarding DeLay, was shot but was
able to return fire on the gunman, ending the vio-
lent attack. Both officers died, and Weston and a
tourist, Angela Dickerson, were injured.
Weston had a distrust of the federal government
and had previously been investigated by the U.S. Se-
cret Service for threatening the life of President
Bill Clinton. After interviews and a medical exami-
nation, Weston was not considered a high threat.
He suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and
was not on his medications on the day of the attack.
While he was charged with the murder of two fed-
eral law-enforcement agents, Judge Emmet G.
Sullivan of the federal district court found him
incompetent to stand trial. Weston underwent man-
datory treatment for his mental illness. He cur-
rently resides in the Butner Federal Correctional
Institution in North Carolina and is still required
by the government to take antipsychotic medica-
tion.Impact The July attack was the deadliest in the his-
tory of the Capitol and brought to public attention
the importance of understanding and treating men-
tal illness. Weston’s illness was manageable, but with
limited treatment opportunities available for moni-
toring his condition, he stopped taking his medica-
tions and became violent. The shooting brought
about criticism of both state and federal mental
health programs and facilities.
The incident also led to a reevaluation of security
measures taken on Capitol grounds and recognition
of federal law-enforcement agents who risk theirThe Nineties in America U.S. Capitol shooting 885