The Wire and repair of the journalistic paradigm
Abstract
The last season of The Wire drew particular attention from journalists given its setting at a fictional version of the Baltimore Sun, where show creator David Simon once worked. The concept of paradigm repair was used here to explain journalists’ responses to The Wire. Our qualitative analysis of articles from 44 newspapers, as well as radio transcripts, dealing with the 2008 season shows that a fictional challenge can precipitate vigorous efforts by journalists to restore their reputation after what they regard as an attack on their professional identity and credibility. The [real] Baltimore Sun and other papers where Simon’s journalistic nemeses worked were the most likely to call Simon vindictive and obsessed and to use this to marginalize his stinging critique of corporatized newsrooms.
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Biographies
Linda Steiner is Professor at the University of Maryland; her most recent book is the co-edited Key Concepts in Critical Cultural Studies (University of Illinois Press, 2010).
Jing Guo is a PhD student in the College of Journalism at University of Maryland, College Park; she studies emotional/affective responses to online news.’
Raymond McCaffrey is a PhD student at the University of Maryland’s College of Journalism. His experience includes eight years at The Washington Post.
Paul Hills is a journalist, film-maker, and lecturer in the School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University, in South Africa.
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Article first published online: August 30, 2012
Issue published: August 2013
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