[gamblor956]

No, you're misreading the article.

The rate for a writer-producer is $7.4k/week. That is for a writer that also does producing duties.

Most writers are not also employed in production capacities. Staff writers make a lot less, and seasons are a lot shorter than they used to be, so there is a lot more downtime between gigs (since few writers have the clout to work on multiple shows at the same time).