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Doyle McManus, the Los Angeles Times' longtime Washington bureau chief, has been named an op-ed columnist for the paper on the heels of the consolidation of D.C. newsgathering operations for all Tribune Co. papers, TV stations and online outlets.

As expected, Tribune tapped an exec from its broadcasting division, Cissy Baker, to head the company's newly minted Washington News Bureau. The bureau, expected to have about 35 staffers, will still maintain separate reporters for Tribune's three largest papers -- L.A. Times, Chicago Tribune and Baltimore Sun -- but it is a major downsizing from the Times' standalone operation that in recent years had about 30 editorial staffers.

Baker has worked for Tribune since 1994, and has been veep of news operations for Tribune Broadcasting since 2003. Before Tribune, she was part of the team that launched CNN, working on-air and behind the scenes for the pioneering news cabler from 1980-1988.

McManus' column for the Times' Opinion section is expected to bow early next year. He's been with the Times since 1978 and served as its Beltway bureau chief since 1996.