They aimed to spread the news (5)
I believe the answer is:
media
'news' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'they aimed to spread' is the wordplay.
'aimed' can be anagrammed to 'MEDIA'.
But, I'm not sure how this is indicated.
'the' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for media that I've seen before include "TV networks and the like" , "Means of mass communication" , "Aimed (anag.)" , "News channels" , "reporting channels" .)