Selling L.A. isn't getting any easier: shootout poses image dilemma.

Regina Birdsell was among the thousands of Angelenos transfixed by the bloody machine gun battle that erupted during the botched robbery of a Bank of America branch in North Hollywood.

But Birdsell wasn't just concerned about the immediate threat posed by the heavily armed gunmen. As head of efforts to attract businesses to Los Angeles, she worried about the impact that the televised street war would have on L.A.'s image.

"This is the kind of thing that will give me job security," Birdsell, executive director of the New Los Angeles Marketing Partnership (NewLAMP), said wryly.

Little matter that the vast majority of Angelenos was never threatened by the Feb. 28 robbery; image, as our Hollywood culture recognizes perhaps better than any other is everything.

Ever since the turmoil of the early '90s the 1991 videotaped police beating of Rodney King, the 1992 riots, the 1994 Northridge Earthquake - L.A.'s civic leaders have been making a concerted effort to promote L.A. as a safe place for business.

But those efforts always seemed foiled by the nightly news and its broadcast images whether it be devastating rues, gun battles or a white Bronco containing an American icon driving erratically through eerily silent twilit freeways.

"Los Angeles is the safest big city in the country, but we are also under a microscope to the world's media," said Mayor Richard Riordan.

Riordan's 1993 campaign was based on the premise that if peace is restored to the streets - through a greatly expanded Los Angeles Police Department - new businesses can be convinced to come here, and established ones can be persuaded to remain.

But working against that theory is the familiar image of two gunmen wearing body armor spraying bullets at everything that moves, replayed continually on television sets everywhere.

The question now faced by the city's civic and business leaders: What can the city do to improve its image? What can anyone say in the face of the most dramatic televised bank robbery in history?

"It is impossible to combat the effects of the image that is portrayed on TV with an advertising budget," Birdsell said. "It would be naive to think this kind of thing is not a concern in this campaign. I take it really seriously, but I can't change it."

Instead, Birdsell said her organization can do its best to present L.A.'s more positive stories, especially those about business success.

Riordan, who played a pivotal role in NewLAMP's formation, admits such efforts are only a piece of the puzzle. The real sales job has to be done by Angelenos themselves, he said.

"The best way to counteract those images is letting the people of Los Angeles know how safe it is, so they can be the salespeople for the rest of the world," he said.

Riordan has also made an effort to point out the effective performance of the police department and to emphasize that crime in L.A. is declining.

Michael Sitrick, chairman of crisis communications ER. firm Sitrick and Co., believes that is precisely the best way to reverse the negative perceptions created by media coverage of local disasters.

"(The North Hollywood bank robbery) isn't too dissimilar from any corporate crisis situation," Sitrick said. "The issue really is, how can you assure people that you are taking measures to ensure this won't happen in the future? You've got to start highlighting what the city is doing as far as law enforcement to protect residents and visitors."

Others say the city should take steps similar to those adopted after the 1992 riots, which were sparked when a Superior Court jury acquitted the LAPD officers accused in the videotaped King beating.

After the riots, Rebuild L.A. was formed to help promoted inner-city business. It also pulled together 80 consul generals from a variety of nations posted in Los Angeles for a briefing with police about safety measures being taken in the wake of the riots.

"Internationally, people have a perception that you can't walk out your door here," said Linda Griego, who heads Rebuild L.A. "All you can do is try to mitigate that by calming the fears, because people do get scared."

Few believe the impact of the bank robbery will be anywhere near as serious as that of the King riots. Although many conventions and international tours were canceled after that crisis, Michael Collins, executive vice president of the Los Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau, said no conventions were canceled last week, and he hasn't heard from any outsiders concerned about the incident.

"I think you'll find this will not define how people see Los Angeles. This is the kind of thing that could happen anywhere," Collins said.

Business leaders agreed.

"I think people accept that bank robberies are something that happen all over the country, whether it's here or Dallas or wherever," said Eli Broad, chairman of SunAmerica Inc. "I think statistically this city is safer than most North American cities. You just grin and bear it and hope you don't have too many of these things."

On the other hand, most. people recognize that, rightly or wrongly, L.A. is perceived elsewhere as a city torn by racial strife, loaded with heavily armed bandits, and constantly teetering on the edge of natural catastrophe. And images like the North Hollywood robbery don't help matters.

Many blame the media for L.A.'s image problem.

"The media are portraying an image of Los Angeles that is completely contrary to everyday life," said state Sen. Tom Hayden, D-Los Angeles, who is challenging Riordan for reelection. "It's not as if we're ducking for cover 24 hours a day, which is all you see on the television news."

Like it or not, however, Los Angeles is one of the world's media centers, and spectacular events occuring here are more likely to generate heavy coverage than nearly anywhere else in the world.

Even Hayden and other media critics concede that there is a larger problem reflected by L.A.'s image crisis than TV sensationalism. If there are plenty of cameras here, it's because they have plenty to film.

The underlying social problems that lead to desperate measures like the bank robbery stem primarily from the widening gap between the rich and poor in Southern California, believes Xandra Kayden, who teaches political science at UCLA and is working on a book about L.A.'s culture and political structure.

Los Angeles is a city where the wealthy are extremely ostentatious about their own money, with vast mansions in Beverly Hills and expensive cars tooling down Sunset Boulevard. Meanwhile, the city has a very large population of disenfranchised people.

With L.A.'s shift from a manufacturing to a service economy, people with little education and training can no longer find low-skilled jobs here. Which leads to burning frustration that sometimes explodes in violence, Kayden said.

"It has to do with jobs and hope for the future," she said. "It's the hopelessness that drives people to these bursts of anger."

Riordan and Hayden have surprisingly similar solutions to the problem. Both men emphasize education. Both also believe business should play a key role.

"Obviously, business will have to decide whether to change its orientation to a broader view of the overall climate than just the bottom line," Hayden said. "This is really about race and poverty, and about things that the business community ordinarily feels should be dealt with by somebody else."

Buy many civic leaders believe the quick police response to the bank robbers will be a more lasting image than the terrifying scenes of the gunman brazenly hosing the streets with machine-gun fire.

"Watching it on television, I obviously knew that the eyes of the world were going to be on Los Angeles again," said Councilman Joel Wachs. "But as it unfolded I thought the city ended up looking very good. The good guys won, basically, and the bad guys lost.

"The image we had after Rodney King was of the police beating people," he said. "The image here was of the police dealing effectively with the most evil kind of people there are."

RELATED ARTICLE: L.A.'s image after the robbery

The terrifying televised images of bank robbers machine-gunning the streets of North Hollywood and holding police at bay set L.A.'s image back to the 1992 riot days - or did it? Here's what a sampling of prominent L.A. opinion-makers had to say:

Richard Riordan Mayor, City of Los Angeles 

Safety is the best welcome mat for businesses to come to our city and stay in our city. It instills confidence, clears the path to opportunity, and gives us the freedom to pursue our dreams. Today, the Los Angeles police department is by far the largest in its history. Wasn't their response in North Hollywood incredible?

Tom Hayden State senator, Mayoral candidate

Los Angeles has a long way to go to reduce the chaos in the city, L.A. is too big, too impersonal, the racial discrimination is too deep, You've got to deal with those problems instead of making commercials to create a false image of the place. We're creating a city in which the inner city is left to watch "The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" on television, and that creates an environment of frustration and anger.

Eli Broad Chairman, SunAmerica Inc.

I think the Eastern media loves to find things wrong with California and especially Los Angeles. The local media, as well, is not as much of a booster as it could be.

As the economy gets better and we achieve more downtown and elsewhere, people will feel better about Los Angeles.

Joel Wachs City Councilman

Watching it on television, I obviously knew that the eyes of the world were going to be on Los Angeles again, but as it unfolded I thought the city ended up looking very good. The good guys won, basically, and the bad guys lost.

The image we had after Rodney King was of the police beating people. The image here was of the police dealing effectively with the most evil kind of people there are.

Richard Alarcon City Councilman

Actually, I think it might have a positive impact on L.A.'s image. I think it demonstrated with the police buildup that we had a strong response and were able to protect the community. I'm not naive to the pessimistic view, but I think in reality we responded in a way that we didn't respond in the Reginald Denny situation.

Xandra Kayden Adjunct professor, policy studies, UCLA

We are a media center, there's no question about it. If this had happened in San Diego, you wouldn't have had the cameras. That's the downside of being the communications capital of the world.

The important thing, though, isn't controlling the image problem that results from terrible events. It's changing the circumstances that lead to those terrible events.