Crossword Genius

Thus is scandal-monger copying miner! (7,3,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

digging for dirt

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'copying miner' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I can't tell whether it can be defined by this definition.

'thus is scandal-monger' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'scandal' could be 'dirt' (synonyms) and 'dirt' 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?

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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