Journalist understood this might cut (7)
I believe the answer is:
hacksaw
'this might cut' is the definition.
(I know that hacksaw often perform the action cut)
'journalist understood' is the wordplay.
'journalist' becomes 'hack' (hack can informally mean a journalist).
'understood' becomes 'saw' ('see' can be a synonym of 'understand').
'hack'+'saw'='HACKSAW'
(Other definitions for hacksaw that I've seen before include "something cutting" , "Blade in a frame under tension" , "7 for metal" , "something to cut copper?" , "means of cutting lead article?" .)