Cope with mediocre journalist (4)
I believe the answer is:
hack
I believe this clue is a double definition.
'cope with' is the first definition.
(if you can hack something, you can cope with it)
'mediocre journalist' is the second definition.
(I've seen this before)
(Other definitions for hack that I've seen before include "get information illegally" , "Cut - mediocre journalist" , "try to access unauthorised data" , "Cut - literary drudge - work horse" , "Chop roughly - mediocre journalist" .)