Beloved newspaper -- American, from the South (5)
I believe the answer is:
sugar
'beloved' is the definition.
(both are terms of endearment)
'newspaper american from the south' is the wordplay.
'newspaper' becomes 'rag' (rag is a kind of newspaper).
'american' becomes 'us' (abbreviation for United States).
'from the south' shows that the letters should be reversed in order (in a down clue, letters go up).
'rag'+'us'='ragus'
'ragus' back-to-front is 'SUGAR'.
(Other definitions for sugar that I've seen before include "Cane or beet sweet stuff" , "White crystalline sweetener" , "Sweet white substance" , "--- Ray Robinson, boxer" , "Cane or beet product" .)