Oh no! On the front of Sunday’s Merc was a dreaded “Dear Reader” article. Usually such articles describe redesign efforts that are intended to mask reductions in coverage. But this time there was no attempt to hide the bad news from the reader. Merc Executive Editor Carole Leigh Hutton (pictured), formerly editor and publisher of the Detroit Free Press, was blunt:

The business model that has sustained this newspaper for more than 150 years is changing. Revenue from the traditional newspaper is declining.

The consequences so far include reducing the Monday-Saturday paper from six or seven sections to four. The “SV Life” section will be appearing every day, and will include such things as A+E and House+Home. But maybe the biggest consequence is that weekend movie listings will no longer appear in Thursday’s “Eye” section. Instead they’ll be online at mercurynews.com/movies and in the Friday Merc.