Return to Transcripts main page

Your World Today

Conrad Black's Rise as a Media Mogul; War in Iraq: Critics Say Government Has Been Given a Chance; The Beckhams Arrive in L.A.

Aired July 13, 2007 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: His lordship caught with his hand in the till? The verdicts are in for a media tycoon accused of swindling millions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: The bill is passed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: Political theater or a setback for the White House? The U.S. House of Representatives approving a bill to withdraw American troops from Iraq by next year.

First among equals? Critics charge the latest papal statement as a barrier to ecumenism. The Vatican says it's just keeping it real.

Plus, a league of their own. The U.S. bracing for the Posh and Becks phenomenon. How will this glamour couple fair in the Hollywood limelight?

It is midday right now in Washington, 9:00 in the morning in California.

Hello and welcome to our report broadcast around the world.

I'm Jim Clancy at CNN Center.

From Rome to Chicago, Capitol Hill to Sunset Boulevard, wherever you're watching, this is YOUR WORLD TODAY.

He's a British lord who lived the high life, and his newspaper empire informed the great and the good. Now Conrad Black adds a new title to his long list of accomplishments -- felon. A U.S. jury in Chicago has convicted him of fraud and obstruction of justice.

We'll have details in just a moment, but first, Charles Hodson has this look at the man and his empire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLES HODSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Conrad Black's rise as a media mogul began in the 1960s. Back then, he started buying up small Canadian newspapers.

By the 1990s, he was in charge of a media empire that stretched from Europe to the United States, owning some of the world's most prestigious newspapers. Among them, Chicago's "Sun-Times," "The Jerusalem Post," and the U.K.'s "Daily Telegraph".

No wonder then that at the height of his powers, Conrad Black was very much respected.

ANDREW NEIL, BRITISH PUBLISHER AND BROADCASTER: Oh, Conrad was larger than life, is larger than life. He cut a swathe across social London and tried to do the same in New York as well. Had already done it in Canada.

He was a big man with big ideas who liked other big people. He saw himself as a master of the universe.

HODSON: But his fall from grace was as dramatic as his rise. In November 2003, he was forced to resign as chief executive of Hollinger International, accused by the board of directors of siphoning off millions of dollars of cash into his own pockets.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the features of this trial has been to basically -- you know, to say Black wanted to have more money than he had available to him, and so the allegation was that he was taken money from the company. And that became -- clearly, it became unsustainable. You know, the financial weakness in Lord Black's empire just began to mount, and he sold off business after business to try to get on top of what was sort of mounting debts and mounting problems, and he could never quite get away. He could never quite do that and get away with it, you know, and stay in one piece.

HODSON: This case is one of many stacking up against Conrad Black, and he faces losing his fortune. One of his key assets, a huge beachfront mansion in Florida's Palm Beach enclave, worth around $35 million. All this at stake.

But experts say it's the loss of Black's reputation that will hurt the most.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Charles Hodson joins us now live from London for a little bit more on the guilty verdicts and what lies ahead for Black.

Charles, who is going to celebrate today? Conrad Black had many friends, but he also had many enemies.

HODSON: I think those possibly who were under his thumb, some would say under his jackboot, his employees, will have said serve him right, because he was, I think, a man who was an overbearing character, and who intended to inspire a great deal of dread and no particular liking. And I think actually, probably, to the extent that this is a victory for the rule of law, then I think we probably all should celebrate, because it is good for us to see that those who put their hands in tills, be it small time or big time, do end up behind jails.

What do you think, Jim? CLANCY: Well, you know, that's certainly one of the considerations here. And people look on, and a lot of people saw this case as the jury seemed to be taking a long time, and they really wondered, you know, is this man going to serve hard time for the disappearance of millions and millions of dollars?

HODSON: Yes. I mean, I think one of the things that one shouldn't forget is that in actual fact, he's been found guilty of three cases of fraud and one of withholding evidence. But there were a further nine counts on which he has been acquitted.

So, whether you think that this means that it was -- you know, the good old Scottish verdict, to not probe (ph) and really too hard to bring charges and make them stick against somebody like that in a complex case, or whether your think that the jury really genuinely thought he was not guilty, very hard to say in -- certainly in the U.S., or, for that matter, the U.K. system -- Jim.

CLANCY: All right.

Charles Hodson reporting there for us live. The Conrad Black case.

We'll bring you any updates as they come.

Well, now to Washington and the tug-of-war over time. The time needed to continue the fight in Iraq.

The Bush administration pushing for more patience. U.S. congressional critics pushing for some kind of deadline for withdrawal.

Senate Democrats trying to attach a troop pullout timetable to a military bill under consideration. The House voted Thursday to pull more -- pull most U.S. Troops out of Iraq by April 2008, just hours after a report came out that showed mixed progress in the war with developing the Iraqi troops and the political situation in Iraq, how far is it moving forward.

President Bush said, though, he will veto any effort to set timetables for troop withdrawal. He's getting sport on that front from a top commander in the field.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. BENJAMIN MIXON, U.S. ARMY: What troubles me about this debate -- and it is important and it needs to be debated for sure -- is it seems to me that we should first decide what we want the end state to be in Iraq, and how is that end state important to the United states of America, to this region, and to the world? And then determine how we can reach that end state and how much time that will take.

To me, that seems to be the most important thing, because there will be consequences of a rapid withdrawal from Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: Certainly not alone with that opinion.

President Bush spoke with military commanders and political leaders in Iraq today by way of a video teleconferencing setup. He says with time, the U.S. will help Iraqis live in peace, and he says both nations will end up benefiting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What happens in Iraq matters to the United States of America. A violent, chaotic Iraq will affect our security at home. An Iraq that can self-govern, provide basic services to its people, and be an ally on the war on terror will mean that all of us have accepted a great challenge and laid the foundation of peace for our children and grandchildren.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: Now, critics of Mr. Bush's strategy shoot back that Iraqi leaders have been given a chance to try to make things work, politically and otherwise, and the U.S. obligation to them is effectively over.

Let's get some reaction now to all of this from the government of Iraqi prime minister Nuri al-Maliki. Hala Gorani joins us live from Baghdad.

Hala, great to see you.

What is the official government reaction, or the reaction of some of the lawmakers there?

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: All right. We have some official government reaction by way of a statement from the spokesperson of the government of nuri al-Maliki, which is, of course, supported by the United States. So it's not surprising that they would be rather positive a day after the publication of those 18 benchmark interim reports on July 12th. We were expecting it initially on July 15th.

Ali al-Dabag (ph), the spokesperson for the government, said, "This progress report is a framework for strategy. We will continue efforts to work toward benchmarks." Also saying security forces have evolved enough to operate alone in Iraq, not a view shared by many in this country.

We also got reaction from a Sunni MP, saying national reconciliation, one of the benchmarks, "It is a hallucination," the Sunni MP told us just a few minutes ago, "to think that it can be achieved in the next three months."

Also, a Kurdish MP spoke to us, and one of the messages he had was, listen, it is unfair to put all of the onus on the Iraqi government. The Americans are the ones who are here occupying this country. The burden, therefore, in achieving these benchmarks needs to be shared -- Jim.

CLANCY: You know, you have the official government spokesman saying the security forces have evolved, they're ready to work on their own. And yet, some people say that this is precisely the problem. They're not.

GORANI: Well, it is precisely one of the many problems here in Iraq. Security forces, as far as the national police is concerned, are infiltrated by militia forces.

Today, we learned of the arrest of a police officer suspected, according to the U.S. military, of coordinating logistical support from Iran and directing IED attacks -- I'm reading the precise charge here -- directing IED attacks against coalition forces. Another element of proof that the national police is infiltrated by these militia.

And another reason, Jim, why -- and this is very important -- another reason why Sunnis, mainly, just do not trust the national police. And also, an illustration of how the security apparatus in this country is much more locally oriented and controlled by armed groups or militias. Therefore, the idea or the notion or the goal of having a central government with a central security authority simply is not being achieved in Iraq today.

CLANCY: All right.

Laying it on the line, outlining some of the problems that are faced there and the view from the Iraqi government, our own Hala Gorani.

Hala, great to have you there.

All right. Becks has gone Hollywood.

Football superstar David Beckham, wife, Victoria, and their children arrived in southern California. It was quite a scene.

He's about to don a soccer jersey. That's right, soccer -- but I should say football, perhaps, for our European friends -- for the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Becky Anderson is at the Galaxy Stadium in Carson, California, along with a global contention of media.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jim.

Six hundred members of the media, and I'm just seeing the English fans arrive. I won't call them thugs (ph), but sounds like what you'd hear on a Saturday afternoon on the terraces in England.

Listen, they're going to unveil David Beckham behind me here at a press conference in less than an hour's time. And what the Galaxy owners are hoping is that he will make major league soccer a big deal here in the U.S. He'll effectively make this a grownup game for grownup men. David Beckham says he is here for the football. Others aren't so sure.

He'll certainly, though, be involved in the social scene downtown, or uptown or upscale L.A.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON (voice over): The Beckham family is moving to the see and be seen center of the entertainment industry. And that makes competition for the spotlight extra fierce.

So what does it take to be seen as a big star among the glitz and glamour of L.A.?

First, you must have a mansion worthy of MTV's "Cribs". Posh and Becks finally settled on a Beverly Hills estate after a series of false starts in the L.A. real estate market. Every time the couple showed interest, the price would mysteriously go up.

Second, you need some big-name friends to show you around time. That's easy for the Beckhams. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were seen sitting in the stands at the football star's last match in Madrid.

And, of course, there's the celebrity endorsements. No problem for Becks. He's got a multimillion-dollar deal with (INAUDIBLE). He's a spokesman for Motorola Worldwide.

He's got his own international clothing line. And there's even a Playstation game with his face on it.

Finally, it's important to know your competition. For Becks, it's American football.

DAVID BECKHAM, SOCCER PLAYER: I have got no chance for this one.

ANDERSON: For that, he has American football star Reggie Bush to show him the ropes.

BECKHAM: Am I being "Punk'd"?

ANDERSON: So what do Posh and Becks need to be fully immersed in L.A. culture? How about a pimped-out ride?

Everyone who is anyone in L.A. has a fancy car. Even if they don't drive it.

And no celebrity couple is complete without a short, catchy nickname. Rumor has it TomKat is throwing a house-warming party for B-Posh, V-Dave. Well, maybe we should just stick with Posh and Becks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Right. Well, you can hear the crowd here. There's a sign up there that says, "Bend it Like Golden Balls." And for those of you who don't know who "Golden Balls" is, well, that is David Beckham.

I'm going to get a cameraman to just spin around so you can see it. Those are the English fans who pitched up today here to be Home Depot's center, the L.A. Galaxy Stadium here in Carson City, which is actually in Nevada, if you didn't know that. And they're here to welcome the superstar who is David Beckham.

Whether he's going to play a lot of football, whether he can make it through to make this a big game -- and it is football, Jim, it's not soccer -- whether he can make football a big game for big grownup men, well, that remains to be seen. But as I say, he'll be unveiled here behind me in front of 600 of us.

That's sort of presidential, isn't it? I don't know -- Jim.

CLANCY: I think it's virtually presidential. But not too much for Becks.

Becks, thank you.

Now, Beckham may bring glamour, attention and excitement to the sport, but soccer is, after all, whether you call it football or soccer, it's really business. So, will bringing Beckham to the United States pay off for everybody?

Stephen Frazier joins us with a little bit of "Insight".

Hi, Stephen.

STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: He is the L.A. Galaxy's multimillion-dollar man. Is he worth the investment? The team and its fledgling U.S. Soccer League are betting on it, counting on fans to open their wallets and spend it on Beckham.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're all really excited because Beckham is like our -- Beckham is, like, my favorite player, and, like, everybody like, loves him. So I think it will draw a lot of people to come to Galaxy games and be more into soccer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it would be worth a good bit of money to -- just for the excitement he'll bring to soccer here. You know?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No team, no member of any team could bring in what he does. As far as jersey sales, putting (INAUDIBLE), et cetera, he deserves it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRAZIER: Six and a half million dollars a year in sa salary, another $45 million annually in expected product endorsements and profit sharing, which means that some of the $250 million we can't hearing about won't actually be his unless Beckham gives his team a higher profile and higher profits. Right now, he is doing both. At the Galaxy Web site, you can buy a team jersey online. Here it is. It's $80 if it shows Beckham's name and his number on the back. And 250,000 people have already done this. They spent $20 million on a product that they can't see in a store. Sight unseen.

Before that, the entire league of 13 teams earned only $150 million a year in product sales.

Season ticket sales have jumped enough now to fill half of the Galaxy Stadium. That's a lot of guaranteed revenue. Other teams are reporting heavy advance sales for the date when the Galaxy comes to their towns.

More important for the sport, though, television. Fewer than a million households tuned into the last Major League Soccer championship game. Regular season games get about the same size audience at skateboarding competitions and bass fishing tournaments and tractor pulls.

But Beckham's skills are perfect for television. His strengths are the penalty kicks or the free kicks, where all of the action is stopped and all of the eyes are on him.

Team owners are betting that Beckham will get Galaxy highlights on to the evening sports casts and will get news coverage of the entire league.

And MLS has revenue-sharing arrangements that mean that everybody's going to share in the Galaxy's financial success. A lot riding on one team and one player.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXI LALAS, L.A. GALAXY PRESIDENT & GENERAL MANAGER: Here is this great gift that we have been given. How are we going to use it in a positive way?

Obviously, we want to win soccer games. And that's the most important thing. And we believe David Beckham is going to help us do that. But we also want to drive our brand. We want everybody in the world to know about the Galaxy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRAZIER: Well, American soccer imported boatloads of international stars back in the 1970s. There was an early pro league, and Pele of Brazil earned a salary that works out to $9 million a year in today's money. And that completely paid off. He routinely attracted 75,000 fans a game.

But he and his friends found that none of those fans were new fans, and the sport never grew beyond its base, even though Pele and his mates were playing some awesome ball.

Back to you.

CLANCY: All right, Stephen. Thank you very much for that.

We're going to have to take a short break. But coming up a little bit later here on YOUR WORLD TODAY, we're going to delve a bit deeper into this whole idea of sport and celebrity and how a well-run publicity campaign can reap tremendous benefits. The brain trust behind this racy photo was there, alongside the photographer. He's going to talk about his interviews with the Beckhams coming up.

Also ahead, courting controversy. Pope Benedict's plans to undo decades-old reforms raises some eyebrows and the ire of the Catholic Church's liberal bloc.

While in Spain, a centuries-old tradition comes under scrutiny. Has bullfighting run its course?

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Well, one story we have been following is the whole tainted food scandal in China. China now ordering the food and drug companies to put safety first after an unsavory series of food and drug failures which led to the deaths of humans and animals. This is something that could cost China much-needed trade.

John Vause reports on Beijing's efforts to try to clean up the standards.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): On state-run national television, viewers across China watched the latest food horror story unfold, an undercover investigation exposing small roadside stores in Beijing which use cardboard instead of meat as the main ingredient in a snack known as baozas (ph). They're like dumplings, and are as popular here as hot dogs in the U.S.

"Most people can't taste the difference. It fools the average person," this man says.

Authorities have announced a citywide crackdown on illegal food vendors because many fail to meet the lowest of health standards. But the communist government has a much bigger problem than bad street food and is struggling with an international crisis, from tainted pet food, to toxic toys.

In the past week, Beijing has announced an immediate ban on diethylene glycol, a solvent found in antifreeze, from being used in toothpaste. Small food must improve hygiene or be shut down. And from September, all food exports will have an inspection and quarantine symbol to guarantee safety.

The U.S. has warned standards had better improve.

CARLOS GUTIERREZ, COMMERCE SECRETARY: I believe that what they do now will determine whether they continue to be a growing, exporting country, a country with future growth viability, or they stop their growth.

VAUSE: And state media reports the People's Liberation Army is now insisting food suppliers pass hygiene and safety tests. "To strengthen food safety is to guarantee that PLA's combat capacity," said one official in the China daily newspaper. And with the Olympics a year away, a food quality monitoring system will be trialed next month.

(on camera): Despite all the controversy, the mounting evidence of widespread problems, one high-ranking Chinese officials says it is "the malicious stirrings of foreign media which is to blame for this crisis."

John Vause, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Just after another short break, the Roman Catholic Church it's clarifying its position, but critics say what the pope is doing is turning the clock back by a half century and alienating other religions in the process.

And later, we're going to return to David Beckham mania in Los Angeles. Along with his "Posh" wife, Victoria, the hot celebrity couple hope to take America by storm.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: A warm welcome back to all of our viewers joining us from more than 200 countries and territories all around the globe, including the United States.

This is YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Jim Clancy at CNN Center in Atlanta.

Now the top story that's broke in the last 60 minutes, from mogul to felon. A jury in Chicago convicts Conrad Black of illegally pocketing money, which should have been going to the shareholders. The 62-year-old British pier was found guilty of three counts of mail fraud and one count of obstructing justice. He was acquitted of nine other charges. Black, of course, a major figure in publishing. Owned "The Jerusalem Post," "The Chicago Sun-Times," "The London Telegraph." He now faces a jail term and a loss of a vast personal fortune.

For many Roman Catholics, the changes made by the council called Vatican II made religion more approachable, more user-friendly. Pope Benedict XVI says some interpretations of that council were wrong and he wants to correct them. But his changes are, in turn, creating controversy both inside and outside the church. Alessio Vinci explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, ABC CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): In 1965, the Vatican II counsel adopted a series of changed aimed at modernizing the church. Among the reforms, promoting inter-faith dialogue and replacing the Latin mass with a liturgy celebrated in local languages.

RAPHAELA SCHMID, BECKET INSTITUTE: This pope was present when the second Vatican council took place. So he had a great passion for renewal then. And I think he continues to have it. But he as a historical perspective, which means he knows that to know who we are, we need to know the history of the church.

VINCI: For the Vatican and the pope today, that means reaffirming traditional markers of catholic identity. In less than one week, the pope urged a return to a mass in Latin as a way to restore tradition to the church's central celebration and reasserted the privacy of the Roman Catholic church saying other Christian denominations are not true churches.

GERARD O'CONNEL, VATICAN ANALYST: What he is saying, we can dialogue better with greater clarity if we each understand who we are and what we believe in.

VINCI: But outside the catholic church, these recent pal moves are being met with criticism. Jewish groups expressed concerned over the Latin mass, which reintroduces old prias (ph) for their conversion. The World Alliance of Reformed Churches, representing Protestant sects worldwide, said proclaiming Roman Catholic supremacy goes against the spirit of unity among all Christians. At the Anglican Center in Rome, a woman minister, something unthinkable under the current catholic leadership, said the pope is not helping ecumenical dialogue.

REV. SARA MACVANE, ANGLICAN CENTER, ROME: It comes in a moment when certainly on the ground, we have very good ecumenical relations with Catholics and with the other Christians as well. So perhaps a bit surprised and a bit of hurt.

VINCI: But Vatican officials say the pope's documents leave the door wide open to dialogue and further discussion. There is no departure from the spirit of Vatican II, they say, just a need to clarify what the pope sees as misunderstandings and wrong interpretations of the changes introduced half a century ago.

Gut many critics of the move say the pope is essentially saying it's my way or the high way, turning back the clock on half a century of reform and reaching out to others.

Alessio Vinci, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Let's get some perspective on all of this. Our religious affairs correspondent, Delia Gallagher, joining us now live to talk a little bit more about that.

Yes or no, is Pope Benedict turning back the clock, so to speak?

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, no. He can't turn it back, obviously, but I think that he can bring a lot of elements that he thought were important from the traditional and the tradition of the church to the present day. He himself has sort of put it in those kinds of words that, you know, his main goal is to promote the sort of resurgence of religious belief, and particularly, obviously, the catholic church in Europe. And so he thinks that in order to do this, he has to a, try and bring back people who were disenfranchised with some of the changes of Vatican II, which is what he did with the Latin mass proclamation, and he also has to try to say, this is what the catholic church believes and this is why we believe it, and this is where we differ because he thinks that unless you have some kind of an idea of where everybody stands, you can't have any kind of dialogue.

So, you know, there's no doubt, Jim, I mean, he's a traditionalist. He definitely believes that this is the right way to go and a lot of people disagree with it.

CLANCY: Well, you know, a lot of people, when he was coming in, said this guy's one of the most conservative people in the entire catholic church. What's the reality of this man?

GALLAGHER: Well, there's no doubt, he is a conservative. But, remember, he himself participated at Vatican II. He brought in some of these changes. And so I think that he's trying to kind of bring back the balance because he thinks that it's important for modern society. So, you know, I mean, he is accused of being a traditionalist, but I think he would take that as a compliment because he thinks that there are many thing in the tradition of the catholic church, and religious tradition in general, that need to be brought back into modern society.

CLANCY: In New York, Delia Gallagher, joining us there.

Delia, as always, thank you very much.

GALLAGHER: Thanks, Jim.

CLANCY: An ancient tradition in Spanish culture is under attack as well. Still ahead, is it time to end bull fighting? We'll have details coming up next.

Plus, Hollywood rolling out the red carpet for this newly appointed celebrity couple, David Beckham and his wife Victoria. It's more than just soccer, folks. And also we're going to talk with a reporter from "W" magazine about their publicity blitz and these pictures. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY on CNN International.

The running of the bulls continues now in Pamplona, Spain. A tradition that began centuries ago. But is bull fighting a part of Spanish culture or just a blood sport, part of the past. Well our own Al Goodman (ph) spent the day with a young bull fighter who's betting his future on it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Ready for a bull fight, in the matador's suit of lights. A time of reflection before facing the bulls.

ALEJANDRO TALAVANTE, MATADOR, (through translator): I've never felt, outside of the bull ring, the sense of being at the limit that I've felt when I am in front of a bull.

GOODMAN: Alejandro Talavante is just 19. An up and coming matador. This day in Segovia, where the ancient Roman Aquiduc (ph), is near the old bull ring. He drives up for a date with destiny. There is plenty of pomp, but Talavante quickly gets down to business. It's a centuries old tradition that is cruel, says this woman, horrified at a bull fight as a little girl.

CONSUELO POLO, ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST, (through translator): It made the suffering of animals into a fiesta. It changed me as a Spaniard. I ask all who come to Spain not to attend bull fights because it helps keep them going.

GOODMAN: Seventy percent of Spaniards aren't interested in bull fights, according to a Gallup poll last year. Lots of empty seats in Segovia and not many young people or children. But the bull fighting industry says it's still a $2 billion business with thousands of fights and millions of fans annually.

DELIA GIL, BULLFIGHTING FAN: It's a big tradition to be here in the bull fighting. For the people, it's very -- we feel it's very exciting.

GOODMAN: Earnest Hemingway once wrote that bull fighting is the only art in which the artist is in danger of death. Many say it's still a defining part of Spain's identity. They call it The National Fiesta.

Star matador, Hose Tomas (ph), had a close call just last month, coming out of early retirement to a triumphant return in Barcelona. Talavante showed us the scar where a bull gored his leg last May. He was off work two weeks. A long time off. Top bull fighters can earn $1 million a year. They're treated like pop stars. Featured regularly in gossip magazines. Top bull fighters have always done well. Here, legendary Dom Ming Gin (ph) having fun with actress Ava Gardner, one of several leading ladies he was linked to.

But the sheer amount now of fame and fortune may be causing some matadors to take fewer chances.

TALAVANTE: I think 70 percent of the matadors go out and really risk their lives. That's a pretty high percentage.

GOODMAN: The bulls would probably like to face the other 30 percent, but the bulls will always die, leaving other heroes in this enduring tradition.

Al Goodman, CNN, Segovia, Spain. (END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Well, still ahead here, Los Angeles welcoming its own soccer superstar, David Beckham, and his posh wife, Victoria. Some steamy photos have recently been published. That should help make them one of the hottest celebrity duos in town. Details straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CLANCY: If you're a fan of soccer or celebrity, you should know that in just a few minutes David Beckham is going to put on a jersey for his new team, the Los Angeles Galaxy. It's a million dollar event. Multimillion. Why did the famed footballer decide to take his game to the United States. Well, Becky Anderson explains to us, it may be just a natural progression in the life of a superstar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): It's a long way physically and mentally from the streets of east London to the Hollywood hills. In many ways, the Home Depot Center is as unlikely a final destination as exists for a footballer who's skills have illuminated Europe's finest stadiums.

But on some levels, it makes enormous sense for a man whose celebrity far outstrips his success to find a home in L.A. But how exactly has David Beckham got to this point? And what makes his stand out as a footballer and as a man?

CHRIS HATHERILL, SPORTS EDITOR, HAYTERS: There's always been an argument (ph) between some people as to whether Beckham has been a world class player. But I think if you look back on what he achieved, particularly for England in the World Cup Campaign of 2002, in the match against Greece, which he basically got England to the World Cup. And since then you look at him and you think, gee, this guy, he still, even now, he's the best crossover in all of world football. Maybe he hasn't got the dribbling skills of some other players or the Brazilian handler (ph) skills that you like to see, but, technically, he's one of the best in the world. One of the best crossers of the ball. And he's got a fantastic mentality, I think, which fans warm to.

MARIE O'RIORDAN, EDITOR, MARIE CLAIRE: I think he's genuinely interesting (INAUDIBLE), but he's also very keen on keeping himself in the public eye. And I think he enjoys changing his hair cut every two or three months.

ANDERSON: Talking about hair cuts, here are the highlights. Back to the football. He began his career at Manchester United, the club he supported as a child. His performances and commitment to the team won his many admirers, while his appearances for the country, despite the occasional high-profile blemish, helped enhance an already glowing reputation.

HATHERILL: Nobody won anything at all with England since 1966. So you can't blame David Beckham for the fact that nothing's been won since he was, you know, playing in the side (ph). And I just think his personality and the fact that he never stopped playing and he never allows any of the criticism to affect him, that wins a lot of people over.

ANDERSON: But it was, of course, his marriage to Spice Girl Victoria Beckham at a castle in Ireland that elevated him to superstar status. The security around the wedding, the couple had signed an exclusive deal with a magazine, was an indication that the Beckham brand was going to be a global force to be reckoned with.

O'RIORDAN: When he married Posh, that was the defining moment. And then very shortly afterwards, they became the Beckham brand. And they very carefully used their marriage and become this global, iconic couple. And I think she's been very enthusiastic about her (INAUDIBLE) and I think he certainly hasn't (INAUDIBLE).

ANDERSON: Married life has so far produced three sons and one or two hiccups, but of late the couple seems more united than ever. As his profile grew, deals flooded in and appearances in some countries produced near hysteria. And the movie "Bend it Like Beckham," a surprise box office hit on both sides of the Atlantic, helped lend to his superstar status. His love affair with Manchester United waned as his status grew and some fans turned against him, but former players defended him. After months of speculation . . .

DAVID BECKHAM, L.A. GALAXY: Joining Real Madrid is a dream come true.

ANDERSON: At Madrid, he joined the galactico, literally a galaxy of stars. His presence at the club helped make Real Madrid the world's wealthiest club, according to the consultants Deloitte. Now he's taking what some people regard as his greatest gamble yet.

BECKHAM: I realize, you know, I'm not as recognized in the U.S. as I am around, you know, around Europe, around other parts of the world. But, you know, hopefully, you know, playing for the Galaxy will change that.

ANDERSON: And it may well change that. Indeed, it's a fairy tale that's been his life so far. It's not hard to imagine that the Beckham story has, in many ways, only just begun.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: Becky Anderson there on Beckham's arrival in the U.S. And it comes with all the appropriate bells and whistles, including a racy photo shoot in "W" magazine. And James Reginato is the feature's director of the magazine.

James, as we start, we want to mention your photographer Stephen Cline (ph). He shot some of these provocative photos. The cover, certain, this one, and then a lot of others to go along with it. And in a sense, that's part of what it's all about, isn't it, being a celebrity?

JAMES REGINATO, FEATURES DIRECTOR, "W" MAGAZINE: Well, I think this is a story that I think they wanted to put them on the map in America. And I think on the base of what we've seen this week, its succeeded.

CLANCY: You know, you met them. You spent a couple of days with them on that photo shoot and you went on to interview them. And I'm just wondering, and everybody else in the United States wonders, what kind of people are they really when you meet them?

REGINATO: You know, it sounds so trite to say this, and everyone's going to laugh, but they're sort of normal people. They're very family-oriented people, is the thing that struck me the most. You know, they have three sons. And I was just impressed by what devoted parents they were. I mean, sure, they've got all this glamour and glitz and sex appeal and all this trappings around them, but finally (ph), you know, when I spent a day at their house interviewing them, I was just kind of impressed by what a kind of a sweet, normal family they were.

CLANCY: Yes. Well, these photos don't kind of say, sweet, normal family.

REGINATO: No, I guess not.

CLANCY: But they're not meant to. It's a photo shoot.

REGINATO: No. Sure.

CLANCY: And, I mean, obviously, he's got a lot of tattoos. She's really out there in front in terms of really -- she craves the publicity. How about him, though? What's he really like?

REGINATO: You know, he -- you might not believe it -- is actually a very sort of shy person. Very soft spoken. But he has an amazing amount of confidence. You know, grace is the world I would use for him. He just has amazing grace and he's just very comfortable. You know, we were together over the course of about three days and he was just always so sort of cool and graceful.

CLANCY: You know, he really has to build up his status here. Well, both of them do because while they are huge hits elsewhere in the world, from Tokyo to, you know, the outskirts of Birmingham, you know, they're not that big in the United States. Will they be able to do it?

REGINATO: Well, yes, that's a good point. I mean Americans might not realize just how damn famous they are. Can I say that? Just how famous they are in the rest of the world. In England, you know, they can't step out the door without being besieged by photographers. Every time he gets a new haircut, it's front page news.

You know, it is going to be interesting to see how it -- you know this week we've seen an explosion of interest in them. Whether that's sustained here is going to be a good question. But certainly on the basis of what we've seen, they're off to a very good start. CLANCY: Well, there are no shortage of Hollywood stars that want to, you know, saddle up alongside them. Tom Cruise going to suck him into Scientology? Any discussion of that?

REGINATO: Well, everyone was very curious about that, certainly. And, you know, it was during the course of the interview David actually brought up the subject himself just to set the record straight because he felt that there was no way that, you know, that's going to happen. He said, you know, they're great friends and they've really bonded, but it's something Tom has never even discussed with them. So he said, you know, they're not going to be the next converts to Scientology.

CLANCY: OK. Let's take a look at the press conference just quickly. Some live pictures as they're getting ready for this. What should everybody really expect from David and Victoria Beckham, from the hours, the days that you spent with them?

REGINATO: Well, you know, they certainly are a very ambitious couple. I mean Victoria, particularly, I have to say, you know, she's got a big agenda of her own. She really wants to make it in fashion big here. She's got a jeans line, a sunglasses line, two perfumes. You know, he really has high hopes for raising the profile of soccer in America. He said that's why he did this. He really wants to raise the sport here to another level here. And I think he's really committed to that. And if anybody can do it, it's him.

CLANCY: All right. James Reginato, I want to thank you very much for being with us. Sharing a little bit of the inside story.

REGINATO: My pleasure.

CLANCY: For our international viewers, David Beckham's the focus of a CNN special, "Becks on Becks." Our own Becky Anderson gives us the play by play on what makes the footballer so special. Catch it at the times shown here on your screen.

And you do have a chance to ask David Beckham a question, what would it be? Send it to us by e-mail, yourviews@cnn.com. We're going to pick one of your questions and Becky will ask it of Becks out there in Los Angeles.

That has to be it for this hour. I'm Jim Clancy. Stay tuned. The news continues right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com