Thus female crosses river in satirical piece (5)
I believe the answer is:
spoof
'satirical piece' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both related to communication as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'thus female crosses river' is the wordplay.
'thus' becomes 'so' (synonyms).
'female' becomes 'f' (common abbreviation).
'crosses' indicates putting letters inside.
'river' becomes 'po' (Italian river).
'so'+'f'='sof'
'sof' enclosing 'po' is 'SPOOF'.
'in' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for spoof that I've seen before include "Parody - hoax" , "Take-off" , "Satirical imitation" , "Cod" , "Send-up" .)