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.

[1] Templeton is involved with breaking a story about a drug dealer making campaign contributions and receiving profitable property deals in return.

[2][3] Templeton is part of a team led by Executive Editor James Whiting planning a series of articles about the problems with education.

Templeton reluctantly credits the quote to City Council President Nerese Campbell and claims that Twigg is not the only skilled reporter in the newsroom.

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.

[8] 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 continues to fabricate information for the fake serial-killer case, hatched by McNulty, and the detective quickly realizes Scott is a fabulist.

Show creator and writer David Simon, a former Sun reporter, stated that he believed that Haner invented quotes and events without punishment from his editors.

[12][11] The character also appears to reference some famous cases of journalists falsifying stories to advance their careers, such as Stephen Glass at The New Republic, Janet Cooke at the Washington Post, and Jayson Blair at The New York Times.