The Merc’s Mike Cassidy says he received more than 1,000 e-mails and many dozens of phone calls responding to his column two weeks ago in which he asked for suggestions about how to improve his paper.

“Some readers sent pages of suggestions ranging from changing the size of our type face (bigger type means less content) to putting the puzzles in the same section every day (a good idea that we’re working on) to becoming a nonprofit, similar to National Public Radio.”

Still off the table is any discussion about eliminating what some readers see as the Merc’s left-wing political bias.

“Going back and forth (and back and forth) on the issue gets us nowhere in terms of addressing the steep decline in advertising revenue that has us in this mess. And so I’ll hope against hope that we can move on.”

Cassidy says the e-mails have given him material for several columns that will address specific areas of concern, such as local news coverage.