Surprise! Election night was a confusing mess.

In yesterday’s newsletter, I wrote that the news media would have to be self-confident on Election Day, striking a balance, basic to all good journalism, between unabashedly laying out the truth and communicating what we don’t yet know with humility and transparency. On this morning after a night that—by any measure—was challenging for the self-confidence of the press, and with the election result still unknown, that balance remains crucial. As of 8am Eastern, we know that, of the states...