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October 13, 2008 10:11:54 AM CDT

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'Wire' Spotlight Burns Paper

Posted Jan 16, 08 1:25 PM CST in US 

(Newser) – The portrayal of battered, prize-grubbing  and unscrupulous journalists in HBO's “The Wire”—based loosely on creator David Simon’s years at the downsizing Baltimore Sun—has provoked a furious internet outcry from some former colleagues who can't help but recognize themselves, the Washington Post reports. One highly regarded top editor dragged through the maybe-not-so-fictional muck calls Simon “a very angry guy"; another resents "Simon's dishonest efforts to revise history."

With other  colleagues leaping to their defense, it's gotten so personal Simon has chimed in, saying he’s only portraying the truth as he remembers it—and that what matters is the quality of his show. The Post grants that both the skewered subjects eventually did—in real life— stand up against  pressure to slash coverage and cut corners in shrinking newsrooms.

Source Washington Post

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This undated photo from HBO shows a scene from the HBO series "The Wire." (AP Photo/HBO)   (Associated Press)
David Simon, creator of the HBO series "The Wire" smiles after the filming of a scene for an episode in this June 14, 2002 file photo, in Baltimore. Simon's latest target is arguably his most personal....   (Associated Press)
In this photo released by HBO, (from left) actors Clark Johnson, Brandon Young, Michelle Paress, and Tom McCarthy in a scene from the upcoming season of "The Wire". For its fifth and final season, which...   (Associated Press)
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HBO  • The Wire  • Baltimore Sun  • newsrooms  • David Simon


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