New 'E&P' Audio: HBO's 'The Wire' Will Focus on Newspaper

By: Jennifer Saba What?s in a name? The question has particular bite in considering the fifth and final season of the HBO series ?The Wire,? starting in January. The reason: David Simon, creator of that series, last season introduced as a not very sympathetic character a certain police officer named Marimow.

That is not a very common name, and happens to be the same last name of a well-known newspaper editor -- and former boss Simon sometimes tangled with when he worked at The Sun in Baltimore (before taking a buyout). And now that paper, and its struggles and shortcomings in a cost-cutting age, will be the focus of the new season.

For the record, the fictional police guy is Charles Marimow and the newpaper guy ?- who now edits The Philadelphia Inquirer ?- is Bill Marimow.

What does the real-life Marimow think of all this? Simon, after all, has charged that he was more intent on winning Pulitzers than doing the most valuable journalism, back in the day.

E&P interviewed Simon for a lengthy piece in our upcoming November issue. We have just posted a new audio report/podcast that discusses Simon and the series (see link below). But looking just at the ?Marimow? issue:

Simon has repeatedly rejected the notion that Charles Marimow is modeled on Bill (who did not always see eye-to-eye with Simon at The Sun). ?Listen, when I first started writing TV, I used to pick characters? names from my baseball card collection when I was a kid,? Simon says. ?Not everybody can be Smith and Jones. Everyone has to have distinctive names, so there are characters throughout my entire history based on people who I worked with. They existed and currently do exist on 'The Wire' across the board.?

Bill Marimow was silent on the issue until recently. ?David Simon is truly obsessed. He reminds me of Captain Ahab and the pursuit of the white whale,? Marimow tells E&P. ?I spent most of my career as a reporter, I grew up working with the best editors and the focus has been on public service journalism. The purpose is not to win Pulitzer prizes but to make a difference in the community. If others deem it worthy -- to say the motivation is to win prizes is untrue.?

Marimow admits that he has periodically watched "The Wire? but stopped after Charles Marimow was introduced to the series. Nor does he buy Simon?s claim that he innocuously settled on the character?s name: ?That is utter bullshit! How could you take a name like Marimow? I have a daughter and son and a mother and a wife named Marimow -- and that is it!?

Click here to listen to the audio/podcast.