Half of news two journalists wanted (6)
I believe the answer is:
needed
'wanted' is the definition.
(needing is a kind of wanting)
'half of news two journalists' is the wordplay.
'two journalists' means two replacements for 'journalist'.
'half of' suggests halving the letters.
'journalist' becomes 'ed' (short for editor).
'journalist' becomes 'ed' (short for editor).
'news' halved is 'ne'.
'ne'+'ed'+'ed'='NEEDED'
(Other definitions for needed that I've seen before include "Required something essential" , "'Wanted, required (6)'" , "Missing" , "Obligatory" , "'Lacked, required (6)'" .)