In the popular media, ready to fight (5)
I believe the answer is:
armed
'ready to fight' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'in the popular media' is the wordplay.
'in' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue.
'ARMED' is hidden within 'popular media'.
(Other definitions for armed that I've seen before include "equipped for fighting" , "Equipped with weapons" , "Munitioned" , "ready for exchange?" , "Carrying a weapon" .)