Tom McGeveran, who took over as editor of the New York Observer after longtime editor Peter Kaplan left earlier this year, told his staff today that he's leaving the paper at the end of the year. Who can blame him?

The NYO reports that McGeveran, a popular boss, is leaving "to start a new business venture." Not so surprising. Consider the position McGeveran walked into: Forced to take over for a legend, then saddled with the insulting "interim editor" title, and immediately handed the task of firing a huge percentage of his editorial employees. Not fun.

What's left now? Jared Kushner, the 28-year-old New Jersey real estate scion (and Ivanka Trump's new husband) who purchased the weekly in 2006. It's his paper from top to bottom now. There are no (powerful) dissenters left. Whatever happens to the Observer from here on out, the blame rests squarely on Kushner's shoulders. He starts his reign by mourning McGeveran with a perfunctory statement from a flack.

In his farewell email, McGeveran urged his staff: "Don't ever think that you missed the golden era of the paper." Well. The golden era of the paper is probably not in the future, under the reign of Jared Kushner, at least. Good luck to everyone there.
[Pic: douglemoine]