Awe-inspiring press employee standing by tree (7)
I believe the answer is:
sublime
'awe-inspiring' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'press employee standing by tree' is the wordplay.
'press employee' becomes 'sub' (short for subeditor).
'standing by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'tree' becomes 'lime' (type of tree).
'sub'+'lime'='SUBLIME'
(Other definitions for sublime that I've seen before include "Unparalleled, extreme" , "Transcendent" , "Wonderful" , "Awe-inspiring - exalted" , "Of the most exalted or noble kind" .)