Deputy heads intend to have journalist taken down a peg or two (8)
I believe the answer is:
demeaned
'taken down a peg or two' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'deputy heads intend to have journalist' is the wordplay.
'deputy heads' becomes 'de' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'intend' becomes 'mean' (synonyms).
'to have' says to put letters next to each other.
'journalist' becomes 'ed' (short for editor).
'de'+'mean'+'ed'='DEMEANED'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for demeaned that I've seen before include "Humiliated" , "Degraded, put down" , "Lowered in status or reputation" , "Given lower status" , "Lowered in dignity or reputation" .)