Sensational attraction briefly reaching papers (5)
I believe the answer is:
lurid
'sensational' is the definition.
('lurid' can be similar in meaning to 'sensational')
'attraction briefly reaching papers' is the wordplay.
'attraction' becomes 'lure' (lure is a kind of attraction).
'briefly' means to remove the last letter.
'reaching' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'papers' becomes 'id' (identification papers).
'lure' with its final letter removed is 'lur'.
'lur'+'id'='LURID'
(Other definitions for lurid that I've seen before include "Melodramatic" , "In glaring colours, shockingly vivid" , "In vivid detail" , "Glaring in colour, shockingly vivid" , "Vividly shocking" .)