The media got a lot wrong this year, but the criticism has been over the top

That said, some of the postelection media flagellation has been over the top.

We’ve been scolded for not taking Trump seriously. That was true in 2015, but it wasn’t true this year. We not only took him seriously; we took him literally. Now we’re told that was a mistake too.

We’ve been scolded (mostly by Clinton aides) for taking Clinton’s email problem too seriously. Sorry, but when a presidential candidate is under investigation by the FBI, the media are going to take it seriously. The Clintonites’ real beef, a legitimate one, is with FBI Director James Comey.

We’ve been scolded for ignoring white voters in the Rust Belt who were angry and desperate for change. That’s nonsense; there was plenty of reporting on what Trump voters wanted. “What Trump’s supporters hear from their champion is a message of unbridled optimism — a promise that he can repair the economy, bring jobs back and Make America Great Again,” I wrote in March. We heard what they were saying; we simply underestimated their numbers.