‘Kathy Fiscus: A Tragedy that Transfixed the Nation’

This week marks the 73rd anniversary of the Kathy Fiscus tragdedy. Kathy Fiscus was a three-year-old girl who fell into a well in San Marino, California in April 1949. The multi-day rescue effort was heartbreaking and became the focus of the first live breaking news event in the history of television news. KTLA’s coverage brought thousands of people to the scene in a desperate attempt to save Kathy.

In the new book “Kathy Fiscus: A Tragedy that Transfixed the Nation,” William Deverell, professor of history and director of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West, takes readers inside the incident and provides the definitive history of it. During this podcast, Professor Deverell reveals how the rescue effort unfolded, explains KTLA’s role in the spectacle, and discusses the lasting impacts of the event.

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