Praised officer under fire after upsetting journalist (7)
I believe the answer is:
exalted
'praised' is the definition.
(exalting is a kind of praising)
'officer under fire after upsetting journalist' is the wordplay.
'officer' becomes 'lt' (abbreviation for lieutenant).
'under' says to put letters next to each other (in a down clue, some letters go below others).
'fire' becomes 'axe' (I've seen this in another clue).
'after upsetting' shows that the letters should be reversed in order (in a down clue, letters go up).
'journalist' becomes 'ed' (short for editor).
'axe' back-to-front is 'exa'.
'lt' after 'exa' is 'exalt'.
'exalt'+'ed'='EXALTED'
(Other definitions for exalted that I've seen before include "Lofty; noble" , "Elevated in rank" , "High - rapturous" , "Delighted" , "Lifted in praise" .)