Cheering news -- one's gaining a pound ... (6)

I believe the answer is:

genial

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

'cheering' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?

'news one's gaining a pound' is the wordplay.
'news' becomes 'gen'.
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'gaining' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'pound' becomes 'l'.
'gen'+'i'+'a'+'l'='GENIAL'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for genial that I've seen before include "'Affable, warm and friendly (6)'" , "Cordial" , "Cheerful and kindly" , "relating to the chin" , "Cheerfully extrovert" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.