Florid tribute read out for esteemed lecturer (5)
I believe the answer is:
reith
'esteemed lecturer' is the definition.
(Lord Reith, as in the BBC's Reith Lectures)
'florid tribute read out' is the wordplay.
'florid tribute' becomes 'wreath' (tribute made of flowers).
'read out' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'wreath' is a homophone of 'REITH'.
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for reith that I've seen before include "Lord --, BBC founder" , "BBC's first Director-General, d. 1971" , "Lord --, BBC pioneer" , "BBC radio pioneer" , "Lord -, first BBC DG" .)