New York magazine is actually getting some reporting done … no wonder they snagged a few Ellies on Tuesday. Turns out all that time Peter Kaplan's been spending looking for a a buyer for the New York Observer has finally paid off.

And who better to run the media gossip pub than Robert De Niro?

“Nothing is signed on paper, but they’re definitely looking at it, and definitely looking at it very seriously,” says one insider. Says another, “They’re kicking the tires.” The Observer is estimated to bleed $2 million a year, enough to scare off many potential buyers since Carter got serious about selling it early this year. But the speculation is that DeNiro & Co. are hoping for advertising synergy with the Film Fest sponsors (AmEx, Pepsi, Sony, Nokia, L’Oréal).

He already owns Tribeca Film Festival, and now he'll have the perfect outlet for promoting it! Oh, this could be really, really fun. Honestly, though (since they were considering celebs and all), we can not even express how grateful we are that they're not selling newly trimmed salmon to George Clooney.

So far nobody from inside the Observer is spilling any news — maybe once DeNiro comes around and starts giving jobs to Al Pacino's kids and shit …

Pink Eye For the Tribeca Guys? [New York via Gawker]