"It Would Be Fun To Run A Newspaper"

Twenty-five-year old Jared Kushner hasn't owned The Observer for a year yet (he bought it last July), but it seems he's fully immersed and determined to make it his own. He's changed it from broadsheet to tabloid-style, which has gotten mixed reviews, but hey, now it's clear that it's not Arthur Carter's Observer anymore. The NY Times, though, wonders if Mr. Kushner will tire of his trophy newspaper, especially given his only other foray into journalism was an article about Harvard's food.

Apparently, Observer editor Peter Kaplan has tried to make sure Kushner would love the news business -and it seems like he's done well, since Kushner seems more excited about the paper now than when he purchased it. But the true question is will it last? The Times also points to a former Post owner's struggle with that paper:

“In real estate, you can work 15 hours a day and get it all lined up with your suppliers, and you can use reason and make that thing work for you,” said Peter Kalikow, the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Born into a successful family real estate company, Mr. Kalikow, who had no news experience, bought The New York Post in 1988 and owned it until October 1993 when he declared bankruptcy and the paper teetered into near oblivion. “In a newspaper you can work 300 hours a week and it still won’t make a difference.”

Hmm, forget whether Kushner will keep Observer - can we expect Jared to be running the MTA into the ground like Kalikow in the future?

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in Arts & Entertainment, News on March 11, 2007 1:01 PM

Comments [rss]

anonymass

Then I guess you mean Edwards.

While I agree that the Dems seem to have had a lock on running fatally flawed candidates in the past few presidential elections, it would seem that the Republican party is facing the same issue this time around.

I don't think there's a runaway candidate on that side of the aisle either. Rudi will have major issues down the road once his record and more details surrounding his personal life are exposed by opponents (they seem to be playing nice thus far, but that won't last long). McCain is looking increasingly crotchety and frail - he's one or two more liver spots from being ousted by his own party. Romney, fairly or unfairly, will have the specter of Mormonism haunting his chances.

I don't see any candidate that would appeal to a broad political base.

A Dem

"Don't you dems know your demographics? You have to have a charismatic white southerner as your horse or you are not going to have a shot."

Dead on. We could use more guys like you Koko.

pugsley

I like the redesign of the Observer, but it feels like the content has started skewing to covering more mainstream topics and makes more references to National Enquirer caliber celebrities. Also seems like there's a glut of boring articles about mainstream dem. politicians, which I assume is the fallback topic used as filler when they need to fill empty columns. The paper's always brought in interesting new writers with strong opinions, but it feels like editorial decisions are becoming more marketing based than content based. I always liked the unpredictability of the content and hope it doesn't become a weekly paint-by-numbers kit. I'll wait and see.

koko

nice likeness. How the hell do democrats think getting a black guy with a muslim name (yes I know, he's christian) will help them win in 08? If the race was for Hitler or a black guy midwesterners would vote for Hitler. Don't you dems know your demographics? You have to have a charismatic white southerner as your horse or you are not going to have a shot.