David Simon, creator of critical darling and CP staff fave The Wire, has gone on record saying the HBO series’ fifth season would be dealing with the mass media. So the fact that Simon & Co. are filming over the weekend in the Washington Post newsroom is not really a surprise, but does this mean the Sun (Simon’s former employer) refused to cooperate?

Of course, supporting a show that’s probably going to be highly critical of absentee corporate-owned media might not be the smartest move for the Tribune Co.

Here’s the Post memo:

Subject: The Wire at The Post

To All Newsroom Staff:

The HBO series The Wire will be filming a short sequence in our 4th floor newsroom this Sunday morning, June 3, beginning at 6 a.m. The majority of the filming will take place in the area around Deb Heard’s office in Style, although there will be a scene in which the characters walk through the middle of the 4th floor newsroom toward 15th Street. In addition to the actors and crew, there will be several dozen extras on site, sitting at desks visible in the background shots. We don’t know for sure yet which desks will be needed so if you are on 4, please remove any valuables or sensitive material from your desktop before you leave for the weekend. You don’t need to “clean up,” however; they want it to look like a real newsroom. No papers or other items on your desk will be disturbed, but the extras will have to look like they’re working so they may handle the desk phone and act like they’re using the computer. The camera and crew will be cleared out of the newsroom by noon at the latest, so this should have no impact on our daily operations. Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks for your cooperation.