He's right though, he's just viewing this from the wrong angle
Parties could be seen as a secret society within the state, they are strictly defined and their members are influential and wealthy. This is the part people forget to include, it's not just "the state" and "the people," parties are essential in this song and dance because they're the ones who'll be paying for everything, whether they are in power or not.
What is the media, then? They're private institutions that earn money through viewership, but how much do they make that way?
If you're skeptical of the media's role in this false democracy, then let's use a different example.
Say, a Youtube channel, or a TV show; both of these earn money through viewership, however, they'll also both accept advertising money from third party companies in order to boost their revenue. In neither case, does said Youtube channel or TV show side with the watcher, as they are no longer the main source of income.
Is this not true for media as well? A Youtube channel may claim that Raid: Shadow Legends is a great game. Do they mean it? And of course, you answer -
"Of course not! They're being paid to lie!"
And yet many will not make the same logical assumption with the media, "the news," as they call it, is infallible, incorruptible, unbribable. There's simply no way that "the news" can be paid to speak lies, even if that's most of their income.
And that's the ugly truth, "the news" isn't THE NEWS, it's state propaganda. In the more relevant context of the United States, it's specifically Democrat propaganda, because that's who funds "the news."
There are more layers of complexity to this, especially the fact that most "News" channels are owned by 3 big companies, and so most of them will speak the very same things. It's how you end up with 50 "News" channels using the same speech, "This is incredibly dangerous to our democracy."
