Wasted something deep-fried on journalist (9)
I believe the answer is:
frittered
'wasted' is the definition.
(frittering is a kind of wasting)
'something deep-fried on journalist' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'something' could be 'it' (both can refer to an object) and 'it' is found in the answer.
'on' could be 're' ('on' can be mean 'with reference to') and 're' is found within the answer.
'journalist' could be 'ed' (short for editor) and 'ed' is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for frittered that I've seen before include "going to waste" , "Spent frivolously and unwisely" , "Wasted little by little on frivolous things" , "What appears to be cooked in batter" .)