Similar conspiracy theories about Pope Francis' election "won't die, " according to David Gibson, a reporter for the Religion News Service.

CNN: The 'Obamification' of Pope Francis

The proximity of kisha club members to the people they cover creates chummy relationships that make it hard for reporters to write critical stories, says Akira Uozumi, a freelance reporter who worked for 20 years at Kyodo News, a wire service and kisha-club regular.

ECONOMIST: Why the press-club system should be abolished

The reality is that neither the reporter nor the wire service are guilty of anything but reporting the news.

FORBES: When Journalism 2.0 Kills

It was most likely a calculated risk, taken with the understanding that the Act itself offers no public interest defense and that both Sky News and the reporter would be liable to criminal charges and subject to the discretion of the Crown Prosecution Service not to prosecute.

CNN: Opinion: Why journalists need public interest defense