TUESDAY'S LINKS: Why the Press Failed on Iraq, Zell's 'Crappy' Tribune Deal, Getting the Story in Iraq

By: E&P Staff In today's links, Gary Kamiya looks at some of the reasons why the press dropped the ball in the runup to the Iraq war, Jack Shafer on the Tribune deal, and the Chicago Tribune's editorial board changes a long-held opinion about the death penalty.

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-- Slate: Jack Shafer on Sam Zell's "crappy" offer for Tribune.

-- AdAge: Simon Dumenco thinks that if Sam Zell sees a future in newspaper sites he hasn't noticed the kleptomedia running wild online.

-- Los Angeles Times: After 4 1/2 years in Iraq, Borzou Daragahi looks back on what it took each day to get to the story and get out alive.

-- Salon: Afraid to challenge America's leaders or conventional wisdom about the Middle East, a toothless press collapsed before the Iraq War, writes Gary Kamiya.

-- WNBC: It appears as though Anna Nicole Smith's former partner, Howard K. Stern, is poised to return to court -- but this time, he's going to take on the media.

-- On the Media: Billionaire Sam Zell is taking over at the Tribune Company, parent of the L.A. Times. But who should own newspapers? Companies? Families? Very rich guys? L.A. Times media critic Tim Rutten says that behind every great newspaper is a great family.

-- Newsday: Newspapers will never be as profitable as they once were, experts say, but can still do well if they see ... the writing on the screen.

-- Page Six: Arthur "Pinch" Sulzberger Jr. comes off as an image-obsessed lightweight in a new memoir by former Time Inc. editor-in-chief Norman Pearlstine.