Crossword Genius

Reporter read statute so as to cover the interesting bits (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

redact

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'statute so as to cover the interesting bits' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'reporter read' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
an anagram of 'read' is 'reda' which is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ct' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for redact that I've seen before include "put into literary form" , "Edit for publication" , "Prepare for publication" , "Edit and censor" , "Prepare to publish" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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