The innovative new Bay Area News Project will partner University of California-Berkeley journalism students with big name media outlets to expand and improve local news coverage. Students will work with public broadcaster KQED and possibly the New York Times to use online media to bolster local news in locations nationwide.

The project will house a paid full-time staff of reporters and editors who will provide extensive coverage of the West Coast by streaming news feeds on the web, public radio and television.

Despite the interest of national collaborators, some community members worry it will take readership away from an already deceasing newspaper audience at outlets like the San Francisco Chronicle.

According to Lauren Rudser, a recent graduate of the UC Berkeley journalism school, Bay Area News Project will not be replacing mainstream media but rather enhancing the coverage of otherwise underreported local areas.

"I think the important thing is that the important news is getting covered in a timely manner, not who reports the news," she said.

More from the Daily Cal at the University of California-Berkeley
More from the Bay Area News Project
Even more from the Bay Area News Project
More from the San Francisco Gate