Tim Arango

Back in April, Esquire editor David Granger told the Observer he had no worries that the Internet would make magazines unnecessary, as, arguably, it has done with newspapers. But if magazines want to flourish in the Internet age they have to capitalize on the direct, textural experience they provide that the Internet can't.

“Magazines have to become more magaziney rather than less magaziney,” said Mr. Granger back then. “There are things you can do with your cover where the paper will actually fold into different shapes—this cool experience that will let you do novel editorial things, but it’s all very expensive.”

But he likely already had in mind something far more elaborate than an origami cover—like, a flashing, battery-operated cover!

The Times' Tim Arango writes today that Esquire will have an electronic cover for its September issue that will flash the words, “the 21st Century Begins Now."

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Dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria ... and this! Tim Arango at The Times is reporting something that was probably once unfathomable but utterly plausible in today's bleak, sad newspaper climate: Rupert Murdoch and Mort Zuckerman are negotiating a plan to combine some back offices to ease operating costs for The New York Post and the Daily News.

He reports:

Lawyers for both newspapers are trying to find a structure for an agreement that would not require signing a Joint Operating Agreement — a mechanism other papers have used that would require creating a separate entity with a separate board and essentially mean merging all business functions while maintaining separate newsrooms.  read more »

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After an exhaustive search, The New York Times has found its new corporate media reporter: Fortune’s Tim Arango will begin work next month.  read more »

New York Post reporter Tim Arango has been hired by Fortune as a staff writer. Arango said that he expects to do some media reporting, but that his role is not yet defined. He begins on October 16th.

Arango, 32, has worked at the Post for four years. A month ago, he met with Fortune's managing editor, Eric Pooley, and told him he was ready to write longer pieces.

"I had to convince him that I was capable of learning that, and adapting to that," said Arango. "That is something that hasn't been in my repertoire. I have the reporting skills down, and now have to learn the other bit of it.

And when a scoop won't hold for a few months?

"There is always the opportunity to write for the Web and break stories," he said.

-Michael Calderone