The legal challenges faced by investigative reporters before a hard- hitting story can be published are always going to be tough. And perhaps rightly so. Serious investigations into misconduct and corruption, such as the scandal of sex abuse in the Catholic church featured in the Oscar’s film of the year Spotlight, can force inquiries, change laws and put reputations at stake. But without the backing of laws that recognise the importance to the public of such investigations many of those stories would remain hidden.

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