COVERING ALL ANGLES; `PREVIEW' A COVETED ASSIGNMENT.

Byline: Terri Hardy Daily News Staff Writer

For a normally world-weary pack of journalists, it was one of the most sought after assignments: A ``media preview'' of the hilltop Getty Center.

Nearly 200 reporters from throughout the world converged Tuesday on the yet-to-be-opened-to-the-public J.P. Getty Museum.

Michael Webb, the architectural critic and contributing editor for New York-based Metropolis, is working on a piece about the spaces between the museum buildings.

``They're brilliant,'' Webb declared in a clipped British accent. ``The spaces are as significant as the buildings themselves. The space of the hilltop frames the city and brings it into focus.''

Contrast that with Jack Skelley, managing editor of the Los Angeles Downtown News, who is focusing on the museum's relationship (or nonrelationship) with urban dwellers.

``We're going to be looking at how accessible the museum is to citizens,'' said the baseball cap-wearing Skelley. ``There's only two buses that I know of that come here; you've got to have a car. I see that as a problem.''

The mostly black-clad pack of reporters seemed on the whole hipper than your average journalist - you won't be seeing most of these people at a local murder scene or covering the Los Angeles school board.

Of course, there were the art cognoscenti from Europe, Australia, Asia and the United States. There were surprises too, like the Finnish television crew from the show ``Hollywood Express,'' Getty officials said.

``It's a huge international happening,'' said Lori Starr, a Getty spokeswoman.

Starr expects an additional 400 reporters to visit the Getty Center today and Thursday.

The day began with a slow tram ride up to architect Richard Meier's masterpiece, home to a diverse collection of paintings, drawings, antiquities, photographs and awe-inspiring decorative arts.

Once at the top of the hill, many of the unflappable reporters gasped. Even with all his wealth, J.P. Getty himself couldn't have bought better weather conditions.

To the west: the shimmering Pacific Ocean. To the east: the Los Angeles skyline, and farther, the snowcapped San Bernardino Mountains.

``This place is less about paintings, and more about the outside - the architecture and the view,'' said Claus Lutterbeck, a correspondent for Germany's largest weekly magazine, Stern.

Lutterbeck, who normally covers Hollywood, said the Getty is big news with German readers.

``It's one of the biggest museums - no one else spent $1 billion,'' Lutterbeck said. ``Germans like to come to California. Now, besides Disneyland and Universal Studios they'll spend an extra day and go to the Getty.''

Giles Whittell of the London Times said while few Brits have yet to hear of the Getty museum, it will soon be an international cultural icon.

``It's terrific, it's L.A. coming of age,'' Whittell said. ``It's the only place in the city that forces people to get out of their cars and calm down. It's genius.''

The Getty opening also signals an explosion in the art world, coming on the heels of another much-touted museum - Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain.

``Both museums are trying to create and enhance a sense of place, a way to get people to come and see the cities,'' said Metropolis' Webb.

Journalists were treated to a tour that highlighted the massive 110-acre facility, which includes much more than a museum.

First, reporters saw the science lab to get a glance of how the museum restores and preserves its treasures. They heard about the Getty's grants, arts education for children and research facilities.

Deborah Gribbon, associate director and chief curator, led one group of reporters on a break-neck tour through the museum itself.

Journalists gawked briefly at sculptures and medieval manuscripts. They browsed through galleries of paintings, from the 1300s through the 19th century - including Vincent van Gogh's famed ``Irises.''

The Getty's lavish decorative arts collection includes fully outfitted rooms, such as a salon from a Paris town house in 1755.

In the museum's ``Family Room,'' children and their parents can stop by to learn about the museum, dress in costumes and pick up educational games to play when viewing the art collection.

Most journalists concluded that the museum lived up to its favorable pre-publicity.

Said Nick McCallum, an Australian television reporter: ``You'd never get anything of this sheer enormity there - there's nothing like this in Australia.''