Because of the acute employee cutbacks by the largest newspapers in the Bay Area, this is a good time for the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal to put their feet in the door.

The San Francisco Chronicle alone reaches 1.9 million readers and has had around 140 layoffs so far. The San Jose Mercury News reaches 1.2 million readers and its staff has shrunk from 400 journalists a few years ago down to about 125.

The Times and the Journal each plan to start a Bay Area edition in November or December this year.

"The Times is more liberal and the Journal more conservative," said Susan Nguyen, a doctor of internal medicine, of each newspaper's different but equally good approaches to reporting. "They have a better reputation. I wouldn't buy the Chronicle -- besides the food section, I don't like the paper."

Bay Area readers already experienced news reductions with a smaller and thinner paper from the Chronicle. If they close their doors for good, the Times and Journal can fill the gap by focusing on local news as well as their usual sections.

"I presume it is going to be the way the Times is now with news, business and art sections," said Yvonne Baker, a former Chronicle writer and loyal reader to both the Chronicle and the Times. "If they add a Bay Area news section it will be good."

Also, because the Bay Area is a high-tech center, "The Times and the Journal would add more value if they add more coverage on technology and Asia," said Resh Wallaja, who works on sales marketing for mobile banking.

Besides pursuing profits, they will need to take into account that local readers expect to read issues related to their region. Ideally the Times and the Journal will continue to publish the papers with the same quality they have been known for, albeit this time the finesse will expand to local news.

The Times and the Journal declined to discuss details on future plans at this time.