Working for nothing, penniless journalist is alone (7)
I believe the answer is:
unaided
'alone' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'working for nothing penniless journalist' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'journalist' could be 'ed' (short for editor) and 'ed' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'is' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for unaided that I've seen before include "Without extra help" , "having received zero help" , "Quite without assistance" , "Dun aide being without help" , "Without help or support" .)