Occasionally tabloid called out Times 's excuse (5)
I believe the answer is:
alibi
'excuse' is the definition.
(excuse given by a suspect in an investigation)
'occasionally tabloid called out times 's' is the wordplay.
'occasionally' indicates alternate letters (letters taken at regular intervals or occasions).
'called out times ' becomes 'bi' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
The alternating letters of 'tabloid' are 'ali'.
'ali'+'bi'='ALIBI'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for alibi that I've seen before include "Excuse, in law" , "that gets him off the hook?" , "Evidence one was not present" , "Defence of being elsewhere at time of crime" , "Proof of not being at the scene of the crime" .)