The Story behind 'Strangers in the Living Room'
Why my travel blog is named for a disruptive TV News event -- and a NEW book.
People often ask me about the name of my travel blog. I usually smile and tell them it’s because you’re always a stranger in somebody’s living room when you travel.
True, but that’s not the whole story.
In this issue of the newsletter, find out the story behind the name.
Plus: a FREE travel tip for trains in Spain.
And how to order my new book for a special price in April.
But first, I’d like to stress that this Substack newsletter is FREE and will always be FREE. I’m not like those other writers who tease you with half the story and then make you pay to read the rest. Also, I’m not accepting “pledges” to pay in the future. It’s 100% FREE. So keep reading and subscribe if you haven’t already.
The Book No One Wanted to Publish
‘Strangers in the Living Room’ started out as the title of a book I was writing about the history of local TV news. On April 8, 1949 a three-year-old girl named Kathy Fiscus was playing in a field behind her home near Los Angeles. She fell into an abandoned well pipe.
First responders quickly realized they would need expert help to rescue the child. And TV engineer Klaus Landsberg of KTLA realized that the location of the rescue effort was in a direct line of sight to the station’s transmitter atop Mt. Wilson.
The following day, April 9, TV trucks from KTLA and KTTV joined the crowd of rescuers, film crews and print reporters at the scene. For the next 27 hours, they would broadcast the first live TV images of a breaking news story as it unfolded.
The legendary Stan Chambers, who became an instant celebrity for his reporting, explains what happened next as people gathered around the few hundred TV sets in use at the time:
“Los Angeles was a big city, but on this one weekend it became a small town city. Neighbors would visit neighbors they didn’t know very well. They’d sit in front of the (TV) set. They’d have dinner there. They’d go to sleep on the floor, really right up to the end… For the first time they experienced the long form of television. They were a part of this whole broadcast from the moment they started looking.”
The Movie No One Wanted to Make
I even wrote a screenplay based the three stories that unfolded in San Marino: the rescuers who risked their lives, the TV crews who told the story, and the family that was the first to experience the loss of a loved one under the glare of live television.
The Kathy Fiscus story showed people that TV was a must-have. Thousands of television sets flew off the shelves in the weeks following the tragic death of little Kathy. Soon, almost everyone had a television, delivering an unlimited cast of strangers onto the screens in their living rooms.
Throughout the 1950s and 60s and even today, live TV was a disruptive technology that ignited a debate over what KIND of news should be reported: shocking true crime and racial unrest. Even the live detonation of an atomic bomb, broadcast to the nation by KTLA in April of 1952. Intense competition between two independent stations in Los Angeles, led to innovations like the world’s first live TV helicopter.
Commercial publishers told me the book was well written, but I wasn’t a big enough celebrity to have a best-seller. Academic publishers didn’t think local TV — as opposed to the networks — was a serious topic. As for the movie? The little girl didn’t survive, so no possibility of a happy ending. I had to leave my anchoring job at KTLA just as I was starting to write the chapter about TV coverage of the 1965 civil disturbance known as the Watts Rebellion.
The Blog I Thought No One Would Read
So there I was, with no publisher, no movie deal and no chance of gaining tenure as a journalism professor at USC. I did have a copyrighted title, a website and a registered screenplay with the Writers Guild of America. The manuscripts were consigned to a walk-in closet that housed the videotapes from my own TV news career.
When I started traveling around the world to teach journalism, I began writing about my adventures for friends back home. Little did I know that my internet-savvy students in Maldives found the link and didn’t appreciate my snarky comments on their culture. It was a learning moment when I realized I was the stranger in their living room.
And that’s how Strangers in the Living Room became a travel website exploring Slovenia and the world. Many thanks to my former student, JR Raphael, for making it possible. His Android Intelligence is a must-read for anyone who enjoys first-class tech journalism.
Also a big thank you to my son the writer, who has convinced me that traditional publishing is so last century (unless you’re already a big-name writer or famous for some other reason). He has independently published more than two dozen books. He brought my TV news book to life under a new title. I’m still looking for someone who wants to make a movie.
Read “Inventing TV News” for a Special Price
You can download the ebook on amazon and read on any device with the FREE Kindle app. Grab it for $2.99 before the price goes back up on May 1. Also available to download on Apple and other ebook platforms. Or you can order a paperback to be sent to your house at the discounted price of $12.99. Shipping is FREE with Amazon Prime.
And if you enjoy the book, kindly leave a short review. It doesn’t cost anything and it means a lot to the writer. Which brings me to this month’s FREE travel tip.
The Train in Spain is Mainly… Complicated but FREE
I was excited to read about the FREE train travel in Spain. It’s an extension of a popular program that started last year. But, upon further digging, it requires a bit of planning ahead.
Details of the FREE offer are on the website in Spanish, so you might need to open the link in Chrome using Google Translate. Here is the link. You’ll notice that you need to pay either 10 euros or 20 euros up front, but you theoretically get it back when you complete your 16 journeys within a four-month period. It’s recommended that you pay with a bank debit card to get the refund.
This deal is a little too complicated for me, but if you’re planning an extended stay in Spain it might be worth it. Or just sign up for a FREE week in a Spanish resort, in exchange for volunteering as a native English speaker in the Pueblo Ingles language program.
In the News: Airports on Strike
If you’re going across the pond to Europe, be aware of strikes that could ground your flight. Here are some possible dates for walkouts in the UK, Germany, France and Spain. (HT to The Points Guy.) As for the frustrations of domestic US air travel these days, you’re on your own.
Amsterdam Tells Some Visitors to Stay Away
The Dutch capital is fed up with rowdy drunks. They’ve started a campaign aimed at getting British men ages 18-35 to party elsewhere. Overall, the goal is to cut the annual total of 20 million visitors in half. If you’re one of the nice ones, read my blog on How to Have Three Great Days in Amsterdam.
Share Your Travels on Substack
Shoutout to those who took my advice in the last newsletter to document their travels on Substack. Click the button below if you’d like to get started for FREE.
I'm getting some great travel tips from you too. La Grande Boucherie in midtown is on my list for the next trip to NYC.
Love your blog Terry and yes I’m one of those using Substack to write my limited travel blog thanks to your advice, merci! 👏