tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. first, a conversation with abc news chief global affairs correspondent martha raddatz. she is the head of a joint venture called "on the radar. including today's surprise resignation of pope benedict and we look at versailles 73. the first film from the ad exec and focuses on the ad industry 40 years ago. martha raddatz and debroah riley draper coming up now. >> there is a saying that dr. king had said, there is always the right time to do the right thing. i just try to live my life every day by doing the right thing. we know that we are only about

halfway to completely eliminate hunger and we have work to do. walmart committed $2 billion to fighting hunger in the u.s. as we work together, we can stamp hunger out. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: martha raddatz is an emmy award winning journalist that serves as the chief global affairs correspondent for abc news that has just launched a new project with yahoo called on the radar. she is a frequent guest and

part-time post. she also moderated the vice- presidential debate between joe biden and paul ryan. let me just apologize, just before we can live on the air, the satellite feed took a hit with all the news of the day and the news that will be made tomorrow. martha, thank you for doing this under these difficult situations. you'll be happy to know there is a beautiful picture of you on the screen. >> i don't know how any of that works but i know we will make it work somehow. tavis: come the about this project. >> on the radar is our digital project with yahoo and abc news. it is part of our power players

and i think the power players get the 100 million hits a year. it is a real opportunity for me to sit down like you get to do and do holland your interviews. tavis: given the number of years you have been at this, how has it changed in your tenure? >> we have to look at it as opportunity.

it is a fabulous opportunity to get different types of audiences. the children get their news from the internet, they probably go to the internet first. tavis: you tell me i could be wrong, but it seems our interest in those kinds of affairs that seine flows depending on our proximity to trouble spots. be moree wwill interested in foreign affairs if it affects us, is just human nature.

tavis: an issue that americans seem to care about, and get your take on that. women in combat. >> that was one of the first stories i ever covered in the pentagon. it was female aviators? i did a story this year on a female fighter pilot, the first female fighter pilot in the air force that is now the first female fighter wing commander. i flew with her in her f-15 and to see her go through this, opening it to ground combat is stunning. i was just stunned when secretary panetta said the joint chiefs supported that. i think it is a challenge going forward and the military has to take this slow and they will

take it slow. i don't think they can lower physical standards or you end up with problems. what people don't understand is part of the reason having women in combat is so important to females, having the opportunity is leadership positions. you have seen amazing women over the years. and have been awarded silver stars because they are in the middle of a fire fight. this is a great opportunity going forward. tavis: chuck hagel is in line to take that job, will he be? >> i predict he probably will be. i don't think any of us

disagree, he probably will be. far and notme this have that happen. tavis: will john brennan get through at cia? i don't want to ask if you are pleased, but how do you read the fact that finally, that is my word, there is at least a conversation about drones. >> i am with you on that, tavis. i think this country needs to debate drones and more about that program. i interviewed general stanley mcchrystal. mid-level al qaeda are being hit. they don't know why or how this happens.

we, as americans, war is changing and we should know more about how it is changing, how we are employing, basically, a deaf strike -- death strike on how that works. it was a great thing coming out of the hearing. tavis: about the pope? >> i got a call just about 6:00 this morning and i turned on the morning america and we were talking about the first time in 600 years. it is remarkable that one of the things is that haute than evict.

having them, it is kind of liked the old boss is still there. tavis: syria? >> syria is a huge problem in a number of ways. after the israeli air strike inside syria, those missiles, it is extremely tense in israel. they are worried about retaliation. 60,000 people have died and no one can come up with a solution.

there is fragmentation out. this is a crisis that has not been resolved. tavis: martha raddatz, thank you for coming on. >> i am thrilled, thank you so much. tavis: up next, a look at the documentary versailles 73. tavis: deborah riley draper is an advertising executive, and the project of the story -- tells the story as they faced off a high-stakes competition 40 years ago this year. it is being released through video on demand.

>> this was to repair history. >> it started in a very different way that it ended up. >> it is crazy to have five designers all completely with five designers from paris. >> it ended up being a battle between the americans and the french. tavis: good have you on the program and congratulations, it is a story i have heard about a number of times over the years. congratulations for getting the story out. fashion week is under way as we speak. it is no coincidence this documentary is being released right now. let me jump right in for those that have never heard about versailles 73.

>> november 28, 1973, five american designers and five french designers were called together to create a fund raiser and restore versailles that was falling apart. it turned into a fashion smack down because the ego got on stage, they had $30,000 and the americans did not have as much money. it turned into the birth of american won re -- runway. african-american models changed the game. they used music, dance, effervescence to create something the french had not seen before. it was the birthplace of american fashion on that day. tavis: talk about what they were trying to restore and why they thought fashion was the answer? >> is needed about $60 million.

and a publicist by the name of eleanor lambert reached out to the curator in france and said, why don't we do a fundraiser? she represented all of the americans that were on the stage in paris. tavis: no agenda, just a good idea. >> they can put on a runway fashion show on the stage and it was very smart. it was an agenda because part of her job, she was hired by the department of commerce during the course of her years as a publicist. she uses the opportunity to showcase american designers, the only african american designer. tavis: how did what started out

as a philanthropic gesture become a fashion smack down? what was the genesis of the competition? >> the fund-raiser started very easily. and buy tickets and come to the show. the french got wind of the fact that oscar de la renta was involved, some young upstarts. but they were not going to be upstaged by these upstarts on their own territory. the they added josephine baker, song and dance. they had a program that was 2.5 hours long and the program for america ended up being 35 minutes long end was precise and modern. it had new designs and the wrap dress. they played something that had never been heard before. they played al green and very white.

it moved the models tremendously and the african american models led the procession in a way that these people had never seen. they yelled bravo and that was denied america was crowned as the fashion later. >> let me go to these african- american models. part of the beauty of the story is that they got a chance to be exposed in this way. where did they come from? i am trying to figure out how they found their way onto the stage and in the creation of this moment that led to this accolade. >> the american budget was not very high. tavis: that answers the question, thank you very much. we have no money, bring in the negros. >> the people that fit the clothes the best and the people that they could afford to take

to paris, 12 of the 36 models were african-american. that is how they were able to get there. they did the auditions and everything but it ended up happening because of budget, timing, a lot of people that were not available. tavis: and you had the best of our soul music. you have gorgeous black women and soul music behind it. they were turned out by this fashion show, but how did they get on stage? >> steven burrows had the studio 54 connection going on. the they had a different plan initially whether they were kind of left with the actual music, that is why it found its way on the stage.

tavis: it is amazing how many things happened that are not planned. >> it was one thing after another. they did not have food, there were all kinds of problems. they thought the french were sabotaging them. they put hot out there on the stage and we were able to do it in a way that was beautiful and defiant. tavis: providence meets preparation, something is going to happen. >> these women are credited with changing the runway and revolutionizing and. the story was buried for 40 years and i was inspired because these women as well as some of the models really changed to business, politics, economics, and they needed a statement about race. tavis: what were the models doing in the states that made

them the expert fashion model that they were? >> an entrepreneur at that moment had just graduated top of her class and she had a theater degree. he wanted to do a little theater, a little modeling. norma jean was at the university of massachusetts said they had various backgrounds and perspectives. a lot of them spoke french, italian, and german. there were very powerful as they hit the stage in their interviews. tavis: tell me more about mr. burrows. >> an early african american at s.i.t. he created address that pop culture contributes to other designers but steven brought it to a bear. tavis: i am no fashion person, do you mean that one with the wrap thing?

>> his southern grandmother taught him how to stitch and it was his initial claim to fame and it became mass-produced by everyone else. tavis: how was he regarded after the show? >> they regarded him as the best african-american designer. and that is what the man himself said. stephen was different, he was innovative. he had different fabrics and techniques. he was young and he was black so that they had never seen that come from an african-american from the design standpoint. and he became very famous, the first african american man to receive international acclaim and the design business. tavis: the french trading on the americans, the americans show 35 minutes and it is clean.

how was this story covered or not in the french media? obviously it was a huge deal. >> the french government and were very honest. they said the americans stole the show. in american media, you did not see it much. you saw more about the guests, but in the french media, they talked about the beautiful black models that turned like dancers and complex soldiers across the stage. the reference to them that for years after the show adopted an all black group. how you would see all black models for 10 straight years. tavis: i am not night even asking of this question, and giving that answer you have just offered, but how could a story like this in the fashion world,

they convince us of x, y, and z. how did the story stay buried? >> demon and i discovered the story, i thought it was very important. the impact that these women and on what we wearan impac .oday the story rises to the top in certain parts but it never comes full circle with models playing the big roles. tavis: i don't want to make you overtly political, but what does this story say to us, and guide us? tell me what the message here is for the tragedy today? i noted fashion week is going on as we speak.

this is not my area of expertise but i watch a little bit of everything and i still don't see the number of african american models on the cover of magazines. i don't see them to the extent that they ought to be. what is the unfinished business in this industry given what we know? >> the unfinished business is to show people that all races can be beautiful. all people can be beautiful so you need to use the people that can make your clothes look the best, regardless of color. there should not be a blueprint for what a model can look like. you can achieve success by having a diverse point of view in the models, designers,

clothes, music, the whole show. tavis: even if i want to be as open-minded as i can be at properly situate this story in the time that takes place, this is 2013. this is now the most multi- cultural and multi-ethnic america ever. this documentary is still an indictment on the industry today, but how will this be received by the industry? >> i think they will love it. they have loved it and they have watched it. he awakened something inside of everyone as they watched it. you realize that there is not a triumph for success in this country that has not happened because of african-americans. the turning point, the paradigm shift, we are part of that. we can't continue to tell stories that don't include african-americans.

whenever the story is, we are part of it. you'll be reminded of the great success. people say multi-cultural and they figure that is good enough. tavis: the project is called versailles 73. i think you want to check this out, video on demand. congratulations for bringing this story to the fore. glad have you here. i will see you next time, good night from l.a. keep the faith. >> all the americans, all the models were invited to dinner. they were invited upstairs so that we can die in the king's quarters. -- dine in the king's quarters. and i happen to have the dress.

i remember walking down the carpet and of the stairs, this huge stone stairway of to the king's quarters. it is like when we walked into the room, they gave us an ovation when we walked in there to eat. we did it. that we really did. we have these beautiful tables and they were gifts from estee lauder, liza drinking champagne. >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley. join me next time for a conversation with mark pinskey on getting

financing for communities. >> there is a saying that dr. king had said, there is always the right time to do the right thing. i just try to live my life every day by doing the right thing. we know that we are only about halfway to completely eliminate hunger and we have work to do. walmart committed $2 billion to fighting hunger in the u.s. as we work together, we can stamp hunger out. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> be more. pbs. >> be more. pbs.