About to spring on journalist but recoiled (9)

I believe the answer is:

rebounded

'recoiled' is the definition.
('rebound' can be a synonym of 'recoil')

'about to spring on journalist' is the wordplay.
'about' is an insertion indicator.
'to spring' becomes 'bound' (both can mean to jump).
'on' becomes 're' ('on' can be mean 'with reference to').
'journalist' becomes 'ed' (short for editor).
're'+'ed'='reed'
'bound' placed into 'reed' is 'REBOUNDED'.

'but' acts as a link.

(Another definition for rebounded that I've seen is " Recovered in value".)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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