ROBERT DE NIRO - DE NIRO TO BUY NYC PAPER?

Actor ROBERT DE NIRO is taking his love of current affairs to the max - he is planning to buy The New York Observer newspaper. De Niro, along with film producer JANE ROSENTHAL and her husband, CRAIG HATKOFF, are meeting with newspaper mogul ARTHUR CARTER to discuss the purchase of his publication, according to the New York Post. The high-powered threesome first got together to launch the TriBeCa Film Centre and Festival in 1990, and are now hoping to work their magic on the highbrow Manhattan weekly. The publication has so far been snubbed by many potential buyers, after reportedly making massive losses. But if he takes the newspaper on, De Niro is hoping to attract corporate giants, including L'Oreal, to pour cash into the project. A source says, "All it takes is one grand slam for it to pay off."