Small quiet journalist rushed (4)
I believe the answer is:
sped
'rushed' is the definition.
('speed' can be a synonym of 'rush')
'small quiet journalist' is the wordplay.
'small' becomes 's' (abbreviation - e.g. clothes size).
'quiet' becomes 'p' (music symbol for 'piano').
'journalist' becomes 'ed' (short for editor).
's'+'p'+'ed'='SPED'
(Other definitions for sped that I've seen before include "Moved quickly" , "got a move on" , "was 8 [FLEET]" , "Dashed" , "Went fast" .)