Fix Liberal journalist dealt with (7)
I believe the answer is:
tackled
'dealt with' is the definition.
(to deal with something is to tackle or handle it)
'fix liberal journalist' is the wordplay.
'fix' becomes 'tack' (tacking is a kind of fixing).
'liberal' becomes 'l' (abbreviation).
'journalist' becomes 'ed' (short for editor).
'tack'+'l'+'ed'='TACKLED'
(Other definitions for tackled that I've seen before include "Challenged head-on as in rugby" , "Confronted" , "Grappled with" , "dealt with" , "Intercepted (in soccer)" .)