The rumors are about to become official: starting this Friday, Oct. 16, The New York Times will add a Bay Area metro report to its Northern California editions on Fridays and Sundays.

It will start with content written by Times' staffers and assorted contributors, and will focus on public affairs, culture and Bay Area lifestyles. The Times already has a 10-person San Francisco news bureau.

It will really get interesting when the paper fulfills its goal of partnering with one or more local journalism organizations in an effort to build a cooperative news outlet, something that will likely happen within the year. Warren Hellman's Bay Area News Project has been one of those organizations rumored to be in the mix.

"At a time when so many news organizations are in a forced retreat, it's exciting to be part of a venture that has set out to build more and better news coverage," said Bill Keller, executive editor of The Times, in the official release. "And as someone who grew up in the Bay Area, I'm proud that we can play a role in enriching the quality of reporting about the region."

Editing the project is Times staffer Felicity Barringer. Daniel Weintraub, the public affairs columnist for the Sacramento Bee for the last nine years, will write a politics column. Scott James, the founder of San Francisco's SoMa Literary Review, will write a local column. These pieces will also appear on NYTimes.com, as will a blog leading discussions of Bay Area topics.