Templeton is a young reporter who allows his extreme ambition to lead him to falsify stories. He has previously worked at the
Wichita Eagle and the
Kansas City Star. Templeton sees his current job as a general assignment reporter at
The Baltimore Sun as a stepping stone to
The Washington Post or
The New York Times. His prose is reflective of his personality, and is often overwrought and exaggerated. Templeton's style is welcomed by Managing Editor
Thomas Klebanow and Executive Editor
James Whiting.
Season 5 Templeton is involved with breaking a story about a drug dealer making campaign contributions and receiving profitable property deals in return. He finds his role of preparing background information dissatisfying, and he speaks dismissively of the paper as a whole to his colleague
Alma Gutierrez. Nevertheless, Templeton is eager to write a follow-up story and requests the assignment from City Desk Editor
Gus Haynes. Haynes denies the request, as he has already given the story to city council reporter
Jeff Price, but encourages Templeton to continue seeking stories. Templeton is part of a team led by Executive Editor
James Whiting planning a series of articles about the problems with education. Templeton wins favor with Whiting when he backs Whiting's philosophy that the piece requires little context and should remain tightly focused on the schools themselves. Haynes unsuccessfully argues the alternative position—that more context increases the relevance and effectiveness of any story. Templeton is assigned the color story about the Baltimore Orioles' opening day game. He plans to write a story about a dedicated fan, but his canvassing does not garner anyone who fits that profile. When he returns to the paper he tells Haynes that his subject is a 13-year-old boy who uses a wheelchair and wanted to attend the game, but could not afford a ticket. Haynes is concerned by several of Templeton's claims, e.g., that the boy would only give his nickname ("E-Jay"). Templeton is pleased when he is offered an interview with
The Washington Post and takes the day off to attend. When he first arrives he is eager to observe a budget meeting, but during the interview he becomes discouraged when his prose is described as overwrought, and he is unfamiliar with the stories that have most impressed the editors of the
Post. They do not offer Templeton a position but do promise to keep his resume on file and ask him to reapply when he has more experience. As he leaves, Templeton's asked if he still wants to observe the budget meeting, but he now shows no interest in the meeting. Templeton returns to Baltimore disheartened. Haynes asks Templeton to assist Bill Zorzi in catching them up on a missed story about a local corruption charges against State Senator
Clay Davis. Templeton is assigned to contact State's Attorney
Rupert Bond, and Haynes later praises his hard work in preparing the story in time for the next edition. Templeton admits to Gutierrez that he was unsuccessful in his job interview and reverses his position on
The Sun, stating that it is not a bad paper. Haynes is briefly impressed by Templeton when he hits the streets and writes an excellent profile of a homeless
Iraq War veteran who suffers from PTSD incurred when an
IED hit his patrol unit in Fallujah, Iraq. Templeton also claims in the same episode to have checked on a fraud case, and Haynes later finds out Templeton's explanation for the story doesn't check out. The vet later comes in and says Templeton lied about his story as well, saying such things as the vet was in a
Black Hawk Down-level firefight and saying they had coffee instead of chocolate milk. Templeton says the vet has changed his story. To fact check it, Haynes goes to the Walter Reed Center in D.C. and talks to a wounded veteran who backs up the interviewed vet, saying he's not a liar. Templeton continues to fabricate information for the fake serial-killer case, hatched by McNulty, and the detective quickly realizes Scott is a fabulist. However, in the end Haynes and Gutierrez both receive demotions for questioning Templeton's work, while Templeton wins a
Pulitzer Prize for his "reporting" on the homeless in Baltimore. ==Origins==