The Times confirms that metro news does not constitute "core coverage"

New York Times Public Editor Clark Hoyt writes today about cuts at the paper, in a piece headlined Recession, Revolution and a Leaner Times:

William Schmidt, the deputy managing editor in charge of the newsroom budget, said editors are focused on preserving core coverage: national, foreign, business, and culture and arts. Over the past 10 years, the paper has added seven national correspondents and 10 foreign correspondents, and has expanded the Washington bureau and the business news department. The paper is spending more than $4 million a year to feed, house and protect its journalists in war zones, Schmidt said.

Meanwhile, the metro staff, with more than 60 reporters, is still the largest, but it has been reduced by nearly 20 percent over a decade. The paper, for example, no longer has correspondents in the state capitals of New Jersey and Connecticut.

(Emphasis added)

The Metropolitan section

Well, for those who'd forgotten that metro does constitute core coverage, the day's newspaper, with no pages devoted to breaking New York City news, offers confirmation.

There's now a fluffy, feature-based weekend section called Metropolitan, which circulates in the tri-state area; it succeeds multiple regional sections, including the City section.

The lead story: a marathon walk around his Park Slope block by Andy Newman, who's main job is to run The Local, the Times's blog on Fort Greene/Clinton Hill.