This is ALL designed as a GRIM REMINDER to future offenders.
She could make a ton more money doing her own publishing and broadcasting.
Very true... but it's NOT the business level that the Paula Deen business dynasty was operating on.
Look, Lady Gaga could make lot's more money selling direct to he fans... but there is ONE little catch. The establishment machine builds your image over time and you must quietly allow them to collect their "pound of flesh".
Without the "machine" your stuck at ground zero trying to launch yourself.
A TRUE exception to the rule, in music, was PRINCE. He was hyped big by the machine and became a name and a BIG seller. A few years back, on his own, he put out his latest album directly and later reported that he made more money on that ONE album than ALL of the albums he had collectively put out through the record label.
My point: The "establishment machine" feeds your hype because they are financially feeding off of it. Paula Deen has now been banished by this same establishment and she's now on the outside looking in. Like Prince she still has the notoriety but now must negotiate the system on her own.
The difference: Prince's popularity, according to the label, had faded over time. Paul Deen's popularity has been compromised over the silly a$$ "politically correct" idea that she used the "N" word many years ago. Strange world we live in these days.