He directs the news cycle? (8)
I believe the answer is:
paperboy
'he directs the news cycle?' is the definition.
The answer is a person as well as being a singular noun. This is suggested by the definition.
'he' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'he' could be 'boy' and 'boy' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'paper' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for paperboy that I've seen before include "delivery lad" , "youth doing the rounds" , "Early morning deliverer" .)