I love "The Wire"

Since the demise of "Journeyman," HBO's "The Wire" has become my newest can't-miss TV show. I'm not one for crime dramas. I've never seen "Law & Order" for more than a few minutes, and none of its counterparts have ever been boob tube destinations for me. But, "The Wire" is just good.

And I think I know why I like it so much. It's the newspapers, stupid!

After, no other show on television gives any play to newspapers. There was Bravo's short-lived "Tabloid Wars," but that was over pretty fast.

"The Wire," in case you didn't know, details the crime-ridden world of Baltimore from the eyes of gangsters in the street, cops tired of bureaucracy and the Baltimore Sun, fighting its own battle with the city and the business.

One of the reporters, a self-aggrandizing young newsie named Scott Templeton, scares me. He wants to be good, really good. So do I, but Templeton's moving towards a dangerous plateau. After moving to the Sun from the Wichita Eagle and then the Kansas City Star, Templeton's stuck. And his frustration at making it big is causing him to have some severe ethical lapses.

He's begun fabricating conversations with a serial killer who is murdering homeless men. The serial killer, of course, is a fabrication of the police department's homicide unit, which needs more manpower. It's a train wreck waiting to happen.

Last week, Templeton used a pay phone to call his cell phone, then made up a conversation with the killer. My heart jumped when I saw it. It's scary for me to see someone make such a terrible decision. After all, I'm taking an ethics course right now.

I only get emotional during select TV programs -- "Ed," for one. Great show. -- but I'm so mad at this guy. He's bright, he's young, he's got a future and talent. And he's throwing it away. Look, a lot of reporters have dreams of being great fiction writers. But the newsroom is not the place.

I'm interested to see how this mess will play out. My guess is that Templeton joins the Journalism Hall of Shame.