View source for The New York Observer

{{short description|American weekly newspaper-turned media site}}
{{distinguish|text=the ''New York Observer'', a 19th-century newspaper founded by [[Sidney Edwards Morse]]}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox newspaper
| name                 = Observer
| logo                 = New York Observer newspaper nameplate.tiff
| image                = New York Observer 321 W44 jeh.jpg
| caption              = Headquarters at the 321 West 44th Street, New York
| type                 = Website, formerly weekly newspaper
| format               = {{plainlist|
*[[Broadsheet]] (1987–2007;<ref name="switch"/> 2011–2014)<ref name="switch">{{cite news|first=Kat|last=Stoeffel|url=http://observer.com/2011/08/nyo-ist-ein-berliner-the-new-york-observer-will-switch-from-tabloid-to-mini-broadsheet/|title=The New York Observer Will Switch From Tabloid to Broadsheet|newspaper=[[New York Observer]]|date=August 4, 2011}}</ref>
*[[Tabloid (newspaper format)|Tabloid]] (2007–2011;<ref name="switch"/> 2014–2016)<ref name="Pompeo2014">{{cite web |last=Pompeo |first=Joe |date=March 18, 2014 |url=http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/media/2014/03/8542172/emobserverem-ceo-touts-gains-ahead-relaunch |title=''Observer'' C.E.O. touts gains ahead of relaunch |work=Capital New York |access-date=February 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304044818/http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/media/2014/03/8542172/emobserverem-ceo-touts-gains-ahead-relaunch |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=live |quote=Tomorrow, newsstand readers and subscribers will get a look at the ''Observer''{{'}}s relaunched print product, which is a smaller, tabloid‑format, saddle‑stapled publication that will trade in its distinctive salmon hue for white paper.  }}</ref>
*Online only (2016–present)<ref>''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', November 14, 2016, p. B5</ref>}}
| founder              = [[Arthur L. Carter]]
| publisher            = Joseph Meyer
| editor               =
| president            = James Karklins<ref name="Elstein_Karklins">{{cite news|last1=Elstein|first1=Aaron|title=Kushners' Observer Media names new president|url=http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20180108/ENTERTAINMENT/180109935/kushners-observer-media-names-james-karklins-new-president|work=Crain's New York Business|publisher=Crain Communications Inc.|location=New York City|date=January 8, 2018}}</ref>
| deputy_editor        = 
| associate_editor     = 
| managing_editor      = 
| news_editor          = 
| campus_editor        = 
| campus_chief         = 
| opinion_editor       = 
| sports_editor        = 
| photo_editor         = 
| staff_writers        = 
| founded              = {{start date and age|1987|09|22}}
| political_position   = 
| language             = English
| ceased_publication   = 
| relaunched           = 
| headquarters         = 1 Whitehall Street
| circulation          = 
| sister_newspapers    = 
| ISSN                 = 1052-2948
| oclc                 = 
| website              = {{URL|observer.com}}
| free                 = 
| director_interactive = 
| circulation_ref      = 
| logo_size            = 
| logo_alt             = 
| image_size           = 
| image_alt            = 
| motto                = 
| owner                = {{plainlist|
*[[Observer Media]]
*Joseph Meyer<ref name="Meyer_In">{{cite news|last1=McAlone|first1=Nathan|title=Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner will step down as publisher of the Observer, and have no 'ownership stake'|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/jared-kushner-steps-down-as-publisher-of-the-observer-2017-1|work=[[Business Insider]]|date=January 9, 2017}}</ref>
*[[Jared Kushner]] (former)}}
| general_manager      = 
| metro_editor         = 
| metro_chief          = 
| publishing_city      = New York City, New York
| publishing_country   = United States
| circulation_date     = 
| readership           =  
}}

'''''The New York Observer''''' was a weekly newspaper established in 1987. In 2016, it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper '''''Observer'''''.<ref name="Ceased Print">{{cite news|last=Grynbaum|first=Michael M.|title=New York Observer Ending Print Edition|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/12/business/media/new-york-observer-ending-print-edition.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 11, 2016}}</ref> The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainment and publishing industries.

==History==
The ''Observer'' was first published in [[New York City]] on September 22, 1987, as a weekly [[alternative newspaper]]  by [[Arthur L. Carter]], a former [[investment banker]]. The ''New York Observer'' had also been the title of an earlier weekly religious paper founded 164 years before by [[Sidney E. Morse]] in 1823.

After almost two decades, in July 2006, the paper was purchased by the American real estate figure [[Jared Kushner]], then only 25 years old. The paper began its life as a [[broadsheet]], and was then printed in [[tabloid (newspaper format)|tabloid]] format every Wednesday, and currently has an exclusively online format on an internet website. It is headquartered at 1 [[Whitehall Street]] in lower [[Manhattan]].

Previous prominent writers for the publication include [[Joe Conason]], [[Doree Shafrir]], [[Hilton Kramer]], [[Andrew Sarris]], [[Richard Brookhiser]], [[Michael Tomasky]], [[Azi Paybarah]], [[Ross Barkan]], [[John Heilpern]], [[Robert Gottlieb]], [[Nicholas von Hoffman]], [[Simon Doonan]], [[Anne Roiphe]], [[Terry Golway]], [[Ron Rosenbaum]], [[Michael M. Thomas]], [[Philip Weiss]], and [[Steve Kornacki]].

The paper published [[Candace Bushnell]]'s column "[[Sex and the City (newspaper column)|Sex and the City]]" about Manhattan's social life and emotional relationships on which the trend-setting popular television series ''[[Sex and the City]]'' (later also with two successful feature films) is based.

It was visually distinctive because of its use of sketch illustrations and salmon-colored newsprint, with the latter compared to the similar physical appearance of the ''[[Financial Times]]'' from [[United Kingdom|Britain]].<ref name="Pompeo2014"/><ref name = Pompeo2013>{{cite news|url = https://www.politico.com/media/story/2013/12/observer-surrenders-the-pink-001417/|title = 'Observer' surrenders the pink|last = Pompeo|first = Joe|work = [[Politico]]|date = December 12, 2013|accessdate = February 16, 2023}}</ref> [[Henry Rollins]] once described it as "the curiously pink newspaper". The paper switched in 2014 to using regular white newsprint for its last two years on paper.<ref name="Pompeo2014"/>

The fourth and longest-serving editor for the newspaper, [[Peter Kaplan]], left the publication on July 1, 2009. Interim editor Tom McGeveran was replaced by Kyle Pope later that year in November 2009.<ref name="Neyfakh2009">{{cite web |title=Kyle Pope Is the Next Editor of ''The Observer'' |first=Leon |last=Neyfakh |url=http://observer.com/2009/11/kyle-pope-is-the-next-editor-of-ithe-observeri/ |work=New York Observer |issn=1052-2948 |date=November 5, 2009 |archive-date=March 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110321111645/http://observer.com/2009/media/kyle-pope-next-editor-observer |url-status=dead  }}</ref> Two years later, [[Elizabeth Spiers]] then served as editor for a year from 2011 to 2012, followed by interim editor Aaron Gell. In January 2013, publisher Jared Kushner named his longtime friend [[Ken Kurson]], a political consultant, journalist, and author, as the ''Observer''{{'}}s next editor.<ref>{{cite web |title=New York Observer Hits Reset Again, Names Ken Kurson New Editor |url=http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/04/new-york-observer-hits-reset-again-names-ken-kurson-new-editor/ |work=[[The New York Times]] |first=David |last=Carr |date=January 4, 2013 |access-date=January 14, 2013}}</ref>

Publication of the weekly print edition ended with the November 9, 2016 issue.<ref name="Ceased Print"/><ref>''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', Monday, November 14, 2016, pg. B5</ref> Observer Media, the publication's parent company, has continued to publish content on an online website under the masthead title of the "Observer" (dropping "New York" from the name).

The discontinuation of the print ''Observer'' came the day after editor Kushner's father-in-law, [[Donald Trump]] (Trump's daughter [[Ivanka Trump|Ivanka]] is Kushner's wife), won the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 presidential election]]; becoming the 45th [[President of the United States]], serving one term to 2021. Kushner served as a senior adviser in the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]]. Kushner transferred his ownership of Observer Media's remaining online assets into a [[Trump family]] trust, through which his brother-in-law Joseph Meyer took over his former role as publisher during that time.<ref name="Stoeffel_Meyer">{{cite news|last1=Stoeffel|first1=Kat|title=What Should Happen to Jared Kushner's New York Observer? Media Pros Offer Advice|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/what-should-happen-jared-kushners-new-york-observer-media-pros-offer-advice-992505|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=April 12, 2017|language=en}}</ref>

==Ownership==
{{More citations needed section|date=March 2016}}
The publisher and original owner, [[Arthur L. Carter|Arthur Carter]], has had other publishing interests, including the ''Litchfield County Times''. At one time, he was a part‑owner in ''[[The East Hampton Star]]''. Carter received a B.A. in French literature from [[Brown University]] and an M.B.A. in finance from the [[Tuck School of Business]] at [[Dartmouth College]]. He spent 25 years in investment banking until 1981, when he founded the ''Litchfield County Times'' in [[New Milford, Connecticut]]. He owned it for twenty years until selling to [[Journal Register Company]], later also selling his 50‑percent interest in ''The East Hampton Star'' in 2003. He has been an adjunct professor of philosophy and journalism at [[New York University]] and is a trustee.

In July 2006, [[Jared Kushner]], a 25‑year‑old law student and son of a wealthy New Jersey developer, [[Charles Kushner]], purchased the paper for just under $10{{nbsp}}million.<ref>{{cite news |title=Developer's Son Acquires New York Observer |first=Katharine Q. |last=Seelye |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/31/business/media/31observer.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 31, 2006 |access-date=March 5, 2010}}</ref>

In January 2017, Jared Kushner announced he would sell his stake to a Kushner family trust, when he became a senior advisor to President Donald Trump.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/2017/01/09/media/jared-kushner-new-york-observer/index.html|title=Jared Kushner to transfer Observer interest to family trust|last=Byers|first=Dylan|date=January 9, 2017|website=[[CNNMoney]]|access-date=January 24, 2017}}</ref> Kushner's brother-in-law, Joseph Meyer, who has been the CEO of Observer Media Group since 2013, replaced him as publisher.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/jared-kushner-steps-down-as-publisher-of-the-observer-2017-1|title=Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner will step down as publisher of the Observer, and have no 'ownership stake'|newspaper=[[Business Insider]]|language=en|access-date=January 24, 2017}}</ref>

==Political stance==
In 2016, the ''Observer'' became one of a [[List of Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign endorsements#Newspapers, magazines, and other media|handful of newspapers]] to officially endorse United States presidential candidate [[Donald Trump]] in the [[2016 Republican Party presidential primaries|Republican Party presidential primaries]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://observer.com/2016/04/in-the-republican-primary-donald-trump-for-president/|title=In the Republican Primary: Donald Trump for President|newspaper=The New York Observer|date=April 12, 2016}}</ref> The newspaper's owner and then publisher, Jared Kushner, is Trump's son-in-law and was an advisor to the [[2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign|Trump presidential campaign]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/20/politics/donald-trump-jared-kushner/index.html|title=Who is Jared Kushner?|author-link=Jeremy Diamond (journalist)|first=Jeremy |last=Diamond|website=[[CNN]]|date=June 20, 2016}}</ref> The ''Observer'' did not repeat its endorsement after Trump became the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for President.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-new-york-observer_us_5819f55ae4b092edafb57456|title=Donald Trump Will Not Get His Son-In-Law's Paper's Endorsement|first=Michael|last=Calderone|website=[[The Huffington Post]]|date=November 2, 2016}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{Official website}}
*{{NYTtopic|organizations/n/new_york_observer}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:New York Observer}}
[[Category:Newspapers published in New York City]]
[[Category:Newspapers established in 1987]]
[[Category:Online newspapers with defunct print editions]]
[[Category:American news websites]]
[[Category:1987 establishments in New York City]]
[[Category:Publications disestablished in 2016]]
[[Category:Weekly newspapers published in the United States]]