To begin with, journalist opens column on sudden election in a humorous manner (6)
I believe the answer is:
jocose
'in a humorous manner' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.
'to begin with journalist opens column on sudden election' is the wordplay.
'to begin with' says to take the initial letters.
The initial letters of 'journalist opens column on sudden election' is 'JOCOSE'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for jocose that I've seen before include "Full of merriment" , "Full of jokes" , "Facetious" , "Playful - humorous" , "Merry" .)