Crossword Genius

Phoney journalist made fun of (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

mocked

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'made fun of' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'phoney journalist' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'journalist' could be 'ed' (short for editor) and 'ed' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'mock' 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 mocked that I've seen before include "made fun of" , "Imitated with derision" , "Scorned" , "Ridiculed" , "Taunted, derided" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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