Lol naw... That was (and still is) the only time I actually watched her entire show and jotted down a few talking points (to discuss 'em with you).
Well according to adweek.com as of August 2022, Rachel Maddow is the 5th highest rated cable news show...... behind 4 other ones on FOX News.. All of the others also make millions. And I'm not necessarily saying cable news is real news, I'm just saying she's not exactly a unicorn as far as her salary in that field.
As far as why Woodward and Bernstein "had to" write books idk.. Too old for substack? Poor investments? I am not sure if that's even an accurate portrayal. As of 2018 Bob Woodward had a net worth of $5 million...... Seems to me he had plenty of $$ to pay rent and feed his familybat that time...... And yet he has written "Rage", as well as "Peril", since then. Maybe he just enjoys writing books like that? I think Bernstein has even more $$ than Bob does so I think he's already good as well.