I got up last Sunday morning with a sense of dread.

I'd announced on the front page of the paper that we'd be cutting back on pages, combining sections and using less color. This came after two weeks of staff cuts in the newsroom, which came on top of pay cuts.

I explained to readers we have to cut costs because the recession has led businesses to reduce advertising, our main source of income. I expected I'd be hearing from a lot of unhappy subscribers.

Imagine my surprise at the first message on my voice mail, from someone I've never met:

"Hey, Betsy, I'm a loyal supporter of The Fresno Bee, a former paper boy of The Fresno Bee, years ago. I respect what you do, I want to commend you on your changes you have to make, I understand that, and I just want to let you know that as a loyal Bee reader, I don't want to have to give up reading The Bee.

"I love reading The Bee, I read it every day. Thank you so much for your support. I just want to thank you for what you've done, and I understand what you're doing, and thank you so much."

The calls and e-mails kept coming, and now I'm struggling to express my gratitude adequately for the support and understanding.

Before I get too sappy, I need to insert a well-worn news cliche here: Not everyone agreed.

There was the man who called around 3:45 a.m. Monday to say, "Why don't you just do us all a favor and go out of business? I hope you have a bad day."

Another predicted The Bee's demise "in the not too distant future unless some big changes are made." He wanted more restaurant coupons and more pro sports coverage.

Most messages were encouraging, though, and many came with advice.

"During the difficult times we are all experiencing, I applaud your cost-cutting efforts," a woman wrote. "Kudos to the staff for offering to take cuts in pay to help the paper and fellow employees. Let us hope all of us are willing to do our part to help through these tough financial days and months."

Another wrote, "I do not like the idea of The Bee getting smaller. However I do accept changes during these tough times."

And another: "The Fresno Bee is part of my morning routine -- coffee, feed dogs, absorb my paper, etc. Less color (great idea for the environment), more compact (suits me). Weather to back of A Section (returned to where it should have been all along)."

Several lamented the return of black-and-white comics: "This is one change I don't think you can afford to make," a caller said. "To cut it out in these hard times is not a wise choice."

A few thought we should charge more for the paper ("What's a quarter?"). Charge less, others said ("I am tired of paying more for less.").

The Bee has too many conservative columnists, a woman wrote. But a man warned, "Remember, San Francisco and California coastal liberals do not buy The Bee."

Some felt we should focus less on national and world news because they get that online. But others want all their news in print. "Please do all you can to keep The Fresno Bee a paper paper," a woman wrote. "I don't have a computer, and TV news riddled with commercials is too annoying to watch."

I took note of a couple of common themes. First, readers cared enough to take the time to call or write. And second, people worry about losing local news and want us, as one reader wrote, to "maintain a vibrant local section."

That's we want too, and we're brainstorming ways to do it. I hope readers will keep sending me ideas, likes and dislikes. We're listening.

There's never been a better time for us to take stock of what we do best and what matters most to our community.