Western journalist's clout (5)
I believe the answer is:
whack
'clout' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'western journalist's' is the wordplay.
'western' becomes 'w'.
'journalist' becomes 'hack' (hack can informally mean a journalist).
'w'+'hack'='WHACK'
(Other definitions for whack that I've seen before include "ration" , "Strike hard" , "Punch" , "Strike; specified share" , "Strike; share (slang)" .)