The necessity for a northeastern edition (4)
I believe the answer is:
need
'the necessity' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'northeastern edition' is the wordplay.
'northeastern' becomes 'ne' (abbreviation for northeastern).
'edition' becomes 'ed' (abbreviation).
'ne'+'ed'='NEED'
'for a' is the link.
(Other definitions for need that I've seen before include "Necessitate" , "Distressful situation" , "destitute state" , "Call" , "Require (as essential)" .)