There's a new print bureau chief in LA

USA Today has gone without a formal chief of the Los Angeles bureau for about two decades or so. Just not the Gannett thing. But with the new year comes a new title. Chris Woodyard, a business reporter in the Los Angeles bureau for most of the past 17 years, will take on the additional role of bureau chief.

USA Today bills itself now as a multi-platform, 24/7 breaking news source. With that comes the desire for a bit more coordination of coverage and a higher profile in the news swirl of Los Angeles. "We have a dozen staff reporters and photographers based in LA," Woodyard tells me. "Under editor-in-chief David Callaway, our staff is already doing remarkable work, both in print, on the Web and on video. Now, hopefully, we’ll do more of it and do it even better."

The USA Today bureau sits away from the others in town, down at the Howard Hughes Center beside the 405 in Westchester.

Woodyard is a former president of the Los Angeles Press Club board.