I remember election day, 1980. 5:30 pm evening news with Walter Cronkite. He opened the news report with the following statement, “We have a new president.” One of the few times the MSM was honest.
And probably the ONLY time, Cronkite was honest.
The difference between then and now is that we didn’t have the 24/7 echo chamber of the MSM hammering Reagan, and talking about how great the Carter economy was. Plus, his failed foreign policy was on display every day the hostages were in Iran.
Even to the hardcore leftist in the MSM, it was apparent that the country was in a mood for a change, and spinning it early would just make them look like fools.