The Wall Street Journal just posted an article on the new New York Times and WSJ Bay Area editions, saying the two are moving "to fill a void in local news coverage left over by shrinking metro dailies."

"[E]xecutives from both publishers have said their continued investment in newsgathering operations throughout the economic downturn would position them to steal market share from local newspapers around the country that are in dire financial straits," the story says.

The Times' edition launched today. The WSJ story says the WSJ edition will launch before year-end.

Interestingly, the Journal's assessment seems at odds with what Times president and general manager Scott Heekin-Canedy told PaidContent in a post published yesterday. About the fact that some might see the ventures "as competition for already faltering area papers like the [San Francisco] Chronicle," Heekin-Canedy said, "[W]e're very sensitive to that consideration. In our view, historically all of the evidence shows we're a supplement to, not a substitute for, the local paper."

Editor & Publisher takes the stance that the Times' new edition "does not seem to scare newspaper editors in the area."

"They have 10 people covering a very large, competitive area. We have a full staff much larger than that covering the area," E&P quotes Chronicle editor Ward Bushee as saying. "All it means to us is that there is a lot more competition, which is a good thing. I welcome it."

It also quotes Mac Tully Vice President of the Bay Area news Group, which includes the San Jose Mercury News and the Oakland Tribune as saying: "I wouldn't say it is a threat.... But this is a competitive market and this will elevate the level of competition. It just makes everyone work harder. You have to."