The salmon-colored paper that has been the distinctive trademark since the New York Observer was founded by Arthur Carter in 1987 has been scrapped by current owner Jared Kushner in favor of the more traditional white.
Carter, who still retains a minority piece after selling it to Kushner in 2006, apparently has no objection. “I think they are doing it for economic reasons and they checked with advertisers,” said Carter.
“It’s not easy in this day and age. I trust their judgment,” he added.
Joseph Meyer, a friend of Kushner’s who was installed as CEO of the Observer Media Group a year ago, insisted the move was “more because of aesthetics than economics.”
But he conceded that advertisers never loved the way their ads appeared on the salmon-colored paper.
“We’d get a lot of feedback from them if their ads did not look appropriate,” he said.