Writer of ‘The Wire’ to testify on future of journalism

All you “Wire” fanatics out there may want to make your way up to Capitol Hill on Wednesday. David Simon, the creator of the hit HBO series, will be testifying then at a hearing on the future of journalism.

In the fifth season of the show, Simon, a former Baltimore Sun reporter, presented a highly critical view of contemporary journalism (plagarism, poor editorial judgment and the effects of budget cuts on the quality of news products).

Simon will testify at a Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet. Subcommittee Chairman, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), will lead the hearing.

Simon will be joined by a diverse group on the penel. The other witnesses will be: Marissa Mayer, a Google Inc. vice president; Albert Ibarguen, president of the Knight Foundation; Steve Coll, a former managing editor of the Washington Post; James Moroney, CEO of the Dallas Morning News and Arianna Huffington, the co-founder and editor in chief of the Huffington Post.

The hearing is scheduled for Wednesday at 2:30 P.M.

jeremy.jacobs@digital-staging.thehill.com