Media Moves: Joe Pompeo Leaves the NY Observer for Business Insider
Peacing out: Joe Pompeo, managing editor of The New York Observer, leaving the pink paper for Business Insider. The news was broken by Observer media reporter Felix Gillette via Twitter. This comes in the wake of Clusterstock editor John Carney's firing, and the consequent shitshow (also acceptable: pissing contest) that followed. 
We hear Pompeo's definitely not being hired to replace Carney. He's headed over there to help staff The Wire, Business Insider's media news vertical. He'll be joining former New York Observer writer Gillian Reagan, who's more or less running it on her own right now.
Business Insider editor-in-chief and CEO Henry Blodget -- who fired John Carney over what was said to be a conflict over the general editorial direction of the site -- didn't have much to offer on Pompeo's hiring, or his ramping up of media coverage. When reached by e-mail: "World domination! Thrilled to have Joe." So there's that.
Pompeo's been at the Observer since January 2008; he started there as an intern, and moved up the ranks to managing editor. Pompeo hasn't had too much media beat reporting experience to speak of (though one of his recent contributions to the culture section was fairly awesome). Then again, Joe -- like Carney at Business Insider -- was very well-liked at the Observer. If Business Insider's future is, in fact, vested in short-form content that moves fast, buying the guy who's responsible for expediting the Observer out the door every week isn't that surprising of a hire.
Pompeo marks the 
fifth sixth departure from the editorial side of the Observer since Kyle Pope took over in November as editor-in-chief when interim editor Tom McGeveran, who took over from longtime Observer editor Peter Kaplan, also left the paper. Along with executive editor Josh Benson. The other four who've left since Pope started were B.I.'s Gillian Reagan; political reporters Steve Kornacki and Jimmy Vielkind, who both left in December; culture editor Hillary Frey, who left in January; and reporter Meredith Bryan, who left last month. 28 year-old Observer owner Jared Kushner, however, has hung in there.
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