I remember in 1980 the media calling it very close or Carter having a lead. After the Reagan landslide they tried to claim voters broke at the last minute for Reagan. I’ve always believe Reagan had a big lead from the beginning and the media just refused to report it.
As for this election we keep seeing national numbers polls. What matters is the state numbers, particularly the tossup states. It looks like Trump is leading in most of them.
Reagans’s people said the race never changed after July, but the media helped Carter all the way until Brokaw’s famous frown on election night.