Father on about newspaper showing model of excellence (7)
I believe the answer is:
paragon
'model of excellence' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'father on about newspaper' is the wordplay.
'father' becomes 'pa' (pa can mean dad or father).
'about' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'newspaper' becomes 'rag' (informal term for a newspaper).
'on' after 'rag' is 'ragon'.
'pa'+'ragon'='PARAGON'
'showing' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for paragon that I've seen before include "Model of conduct" , "Perfect example of a quality" , "Model of excellence or perfection" , "Role model" , "Perfect diamond" .)