Journalist applying spin to nonsense I had encouraged at first (6)
I believe the answer is:
editor
'journalist' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'spin to nonsense i had encouraged at first' is the wordplay.
'spin' is a reversal indicator.
'to nonsense' becomes 'rot' (I've seen this before).
'i had' becomes 'id' (I'd).
'at first' indicates taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'encouraged' is 'e'.
'rot'+'id'+'e'='rotide'
'rotide' written backwards gives 'EDITOR'.
'applying' is the link.
(Other definitions for editor that I've seen before include "Press boss" , "Script-preparer" , "One working on paper" , "Redo it and become head of publication" , "Person responsible for publication;" .)