The Philadelphia Daily News delves into the philosophical question which plagues our consciousness every day. "Why the fuck," they ask "would anyone in the world want to buy the Philadelphia 76ers?" They give a few reasons, mostly sticking with the notion that taking a basketball team back to its glory days is the greatest thing imaginable. And since our NYU attending New York Observer owning media mogul Jared Kushner is buying everything in sight, the News thinks he might be the one to snap up the down-trodden team.

"The short story is, [it would have to be] somebody with a lot of money that's not looking for any quick return on their investment and can handle negative cash flow," Shropshire said.

A source indicated that the family, led by Jared Kushner - who recently purchased the New York Observer for $10 million - was interested enough to have been given a tour of the Wachovia Center.

The plan, a source indicated, was for the family to be the buyer, rather than the Kushner Companies, a multibillion dollar real-estate enterprise. Jared Kushner, asked twice via e-mail about his interest by the Daily News, declined comment.

Hey, we also hear that Kushner's thinking of buying the Hell's Kitchen flea market. And possibly Millennium Park in Chicago. And an apple from down the street.

Words to whys of owning Sixers [Philadephia Daily News]

I Want Media's Patrick Phillips is the next media man to interview press happy 25-year-old New York Observer owner Jared Kushner. In this lovely Q+A Kushner admits to having great respect for blogs (yes, even Jossip), he reads the paper he owns, and (surely to Keith Kelly's delight) he doesn't plan to change the color of the Observer.

Also, he doesn't have a MySpace page.

IWM: Do you have a profile page on Facebook, Friendster, MySpace or any other social networking site?

Kushner: No. I never got into that craze. I keep up with my friends the old-fashioned way, by using the telephone or meeting in person. I know — foreign concepts in today's society.

And, on a sad note, his brother and Observer co-owner Little Joshie Kushner no longer has one, either.

Jared Kushner: My Generation Has 'Shorter Attention Spans, Greater Expectations' About News [Patrick Phillips, I Want Media]

Today asks New York magazine:

And, after much research, we learned:

What Makes Jared Run? [Geoffrey Gray, NYM]

Fridays are always so fun! We asked for a photo of Joshua "Little Joshie" Kushner New York Observer owner Jared Kushner's little brother, partial Observer owner, Harvard student and executive editor of Scene magazine) and you delivered. And not just a photo, either, but a link to his strange online networking/dating/pillow fighting profile.

Um, we're gonna' have to say dang. Boy is pretty hot — especially for a Harvard kid. We definitely think his role in owning a piece of the family business should be going to parties and, uh, handling the press.

Joshua Kushner [XuQa]
Earlier: Little Joshie Kushner Has Media Experience, Goes to Harvard
Earlier: And Observer Staffers Thought it Was Bad When a 25-Year-Old Owned Their Asses

So, you know how we learned today that it's not only Jared Kushner who owns the New York Observer, but his entire gaggle of siblings get a chunk of the paper as well?

Well, turns out the youngest, 21-year-old Joshua Kushner (who we like to refer to as "Little Joshie"), isn't just jumping on board with no experience. He goes to Harvard. And is an executive editor. At a magazine. A magazine which has published a whole issue, in fact.

From today's Harvard Crimson, which is just reporting that their most celebrated alumni since Natalie Portman now owns a newspaper.

Kushner is currently attending New York University’s law and business schools. His younger brother, Joshua Kushner ’08, is an executive editor of Scene Magazine, a fashion and lifestyle magazine that was founded last year and has thus far printed one issue.

See, Scocca? Nothing to worry about at all. These kids have worked in media before. They totally know what they're doing.

(PS - If anyone has a photo of Little Joshie, we'd really love to catch a glimpse of it.)

Kushner Buys NY Observer [Paras D. Bhayani, Harvard Crimson]
Earlier: And Observer Staffers Thought it Was Bad When a 25-Year-Old Owned Their Asses

So, Mr. Jared "I own the Observer" Kushner had a little confession to make to the New York Sun today. In the midst of divulging his plans to buy 22 buildings in what will surely officially be "SpaHa" if he owns them, Kushner adds this little bit.

In an interview, Mr. Kushner said his partners in the real estate venture include his siblings, Dara, 27, Nicole, 23, and Joshua, 21,all of whom have minority interests in the Observer. He declined to be more specific about the location of the properties, their current owners, or how much he expected to spend.

He also declined to be more specific about his thousands of siblings, the youngest being 21, who now own a piece of Tom Scocca. Little Joshie must feel like a pretty big man now.

Kushner Quietly Raising His Stake in Manhattan [New York Sun]
'Observer' Sold to Jersey Jewfia Family [Gawker]

When we first heard that 25-year-old Jared Kushner was buying the New York Observer, so many questions ran through our heads. Like How the hell does something like this happen? and Who is this guy? Luckily we have the daily Metro to ask the really hard questions. Like, how is it possible that you, a law student, are running an entire newspaper?

What made you wake up one morning and say, “I want to buy a paper”?

Well, I didn’t wake up one morning and say that. I’ve always been entrepreneurial and interested in various businesses. The newspaper business is one of many that I’ve followed. When I heard that [founder Arthur] Carter was thinking of selling it, I figured a phone call is 25 cents, more expensive than a Metro. We engaged in serious discussions and we were able to make it happen.

What makes you think you can run a newspaper?

See, Kushner is willing to invest. He wants to buy a paper, he's going to put that quarter (plus $10 million or so) where his mouth is. Plus, he knows the Metro is free. That should count for something.

New York’s next media mogul? [Michael p. Ventura, Metro New York]

If you want to own one of the most old school gossipy newspapers in New York, you better be ready to be gossiped about yourself. Yes, we're talking about Jared Kushner, the young buck who just took over as the new owner of the New York Observer. Rush & Molloy did their best to dig up some dirt on the kid (we're sure after last night's Tabloid Wars the imagery is all coming quite easily) and here's what they found: Kushner's a Harvard hero.

"Some distressed upperclassman bursts out screaming that a pre-frosh just passed out (from alcohol) in her room," recounts our spy. "Jared rushes to the rescue, disappears in the elevator and moments later returns holding the girl cradled in his arms and then carries her off to the health-services building, five blocks away."

"Yes I did carry a girl to the hospital," explained a surprised Kushner when we recounted the tale. "She seemed like she was in a bad place."

Wow. That's pretty intense. The only thing we can do with this random, arbitrary gossip is give it a headline that would make Peter Kaplan proud. Well, that, and keep his name handy for future "where was Kushner when she needed him" jokes relating to underage girls barfing all over NYU.

A dash of vanilla for peach-hued paper [Rush & Molloy, Daily News]

Just 25 years old, how much could new owner of the New York Observer have actually accomplished thus far in life? A quick round of research found the following about Jared Kushner. Oh, and the above video too, where, as the chairman of Harvard's Chabad House Celebration Committee, he leads the "Day of Dedication and Celebration of Jewish Life at Harvard." Oh the Jews and their media.

• At the age of 21, he was already donating to political campaigns.

• A student at Columbia, he took ninth place at the university's Quiz Bowl competition in '04. (Wrong Jared Kushner. And wrong university.)

• His grandparents immigrated from Russia after World War II.

• Daddy Charles, New Jersey's largest landlord, is serving out a witness-tampering sentence.

• He identifies as an orthodox Jew.

• And, lest we be the first ones to let this most important fact not go ignored — dude is hot.

Last week we told you Jared Kushner, a 25-year-old guy whose name was bit soured by his real estate mogul father spent two years in jail for tax evasion, may be the next owner of the New York Observer. And today we're telling you it's official. So official, in fact, Kushner even gave this provocative statement in regards to his new pet project:

“I own The New York Observer,” he said yesterday.

His goal is to take the paper out of the hole by increasing advertising, web traffic, and news coverage. Kushner was even kind enough to convince the silly grown-ups over at the paper he won;t be fucking with their editorial content or anything like that. So, what is the staff's reaction? Well, Peter Kaplan more or less calls him stupid … in a good way.

“In that sense … his 25-ness is a huge asset. He is not weighed down by the debris of conventional wisdom.”

We hope Kushner is bright enough to keep up with the inner-office insults that sound like compliments, but are really just fancy ways of saying "I can't believe a kid 8 years younger than me owns my ass."

Developer’s Son Acquires The New York Observer [Katharine Q. Seelye, New York Times]
Earlier: Observer Staff Gears Up to Work for 25 Year Old Law Student

Have no fear; all hope for the the New York Observer is not lost. Even though Robert De Niro & co. didn't work out for buyers of the paper, doesn't mean the "snarky, gossipy, salmon paper" won't be sold eventually. The latest rumor in the series of NYO buzz surrounds Jared Kushner. Ever heard of him?

He's 25, the son of imprisoned real estate mogul Charles Kushner, and attends NYU law school. We guess this consideration debunks any theories of that "buyer's remorse" Arthur Carter was rumored to have. Apparently, he wants to rid himself of this money guzzling publication so badly, he'll let his entire staff (well, minus Rebecca Dana) work for a guy who's younger than they are. This, however, is not the "awkward" part of the story — his dad being in prison seems to be the big catch.

Of the potential awkwardness of the son of such a news figure owning a majority interest in the paper, Peter Kaplan, editor of The Observer, said: “It’s premature to go there, but we will always follow our best editorial instincts at this paper.’’

To be fair, Carter is also talking to other potential candidates. We're thinking along the lines of Ken Lay's kids … or maybe Haley Joel Osmont?

Developer’s Son Negotiating to Buy New York Observer [Katherine Q. Seelye, New York Times]