> In contrast, the channels that have large production crews and publish more regularly usually feel thin on content. There is either very little value to the information or the density of information is incredibly low. There are exceptions. Vox comes to mind because they clearly respect their audience, has many more people involved in production, and produces more polished videos.
Are you familiar with the youtube channel Kurzgesagt?
That's an exception to the rule - a rare case of people with enough integrity to not sacrifice quality and accuracy, while having a distinct and approachable enough style to attract a wider audience. And still, I'm not sure if they've reached "financial independence" point yet. Yes, there's Patreon (and I send them money there), but last I checked (roughly a year ago), they still funded it in big part from the money they make commercially as a creative agency.
Are you familiar with the youtube channel Kurzgesagt?