In ‘Spotlight,’ an Oscar Favorite, Dogged and Ink-Stained Heroes

LOS ANGELES — They have been whipsawed by the web and left jobless by the thousands in round after round of layoffs and early retirements. Their public standing just barely rises above that of lobbyists and telemarketers.   But against all odds, the hottest heroes in Hollywood — at least in this early stage of the Oscar hunt — are a bunch of scruffy, middle-aged newspaper journalists.