Journalists of The Wire

The Wire is a fictional television drama series produced by the Home Box Office network. The fifth season of the show included a focus on the media and in particular a fictionalized version of The Baltimore Sun. The series introduced many new characters who were professional journalists.

Rebecca Corbett is the paper's Regional Affairs Desk Editor.

She is named after real-life former Baltimore Sun editor Rebecca Corbett.

Augustus "Gus" Haynes is the city desk editor for the paper and is a principled but unrefined presence in the newsroom. Haynes is played by Clark Johnson.

James Whiting is the paper's executive editor and is responsible for guiding the paper's reporting. He has ambitions of winning a Pulitzer prize for his paper and his fascination with the "Dickensian aspect" of stories leaves him often out-of-touch with the problems facing the city. His managing editor is a colleague from their days working in Philadelphia, Thomas Klebanow. Klebanow handles the day-to-day running of the paper and the handling of cutbacks from the paper's owners. He is interested in pursuing stories that stir emotion in the reader over those that examine the context and roots of social problems facing the city. Whiting values his network of connections in the industry, and used his authority to prevent the paper from publishing a negative story about shortfalls in racial integration at the University of Maryland to protect his old friend Gene Robbins, the dean of journalism. Whiting is based on former Baltimore Sun editor John Carroll.

Thomas Klebanow is the paper's managing editor and is responsible for the day-to-day running of the paper. Klebanow is renowned for hiring young female reporters with questionable writing skills. He worked with executive editor James Whiting at The Philadelphia Inquirer and followed him to The Baltimore Sun. Klebanow is often left with the responsibility for cutbacks and buyouts by Whiting. He comes across as vain and lacking character strength, but he has a good sense of the bottom line and the potential of a story to draw readers. Klebanow chairs the daily budget meetings and decides how much space to allocate to each story. Klebanow is based on former Baltimore Sun managing editor Bill Marimow, whom series creator David Simon despises.

Tim Phelps is the editor of the paper's State Desk. He is pressured by cuts to staff and funding. Phelps is particularly displeased to be beaten to a story by the Daily Record. Phelps is a smoker and often spends time on the loading dock with his colleagues Gus Haynes, Roger Twigg and Jeff Price.

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