The excessive coverage of the scandal signals that the news media may have finally hit/reached 'the bottom of the barrel'.
Salaries in the industry are scraping/hitting 'the bottom of the barrel'. [=salaries in the industry are very low]
Several people have lost their jobs recently, so the office isn't exactly a 'barrel of laughs' these days.
(..) Charmed. See, when the Yankees marched through Alabama, they tried to destroy our metal-formin' capabilities by placin' barrels of powder underneath the anvils. Of course, all that managed to do was blow 'em sky-high for a few seconds. (..)2002 Sweet Home Alabama