NEW YORK — The fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s government Friday made for a giddy day of media coverage that combined the historical sweep of an event such as the fall of the Berlin Wall with the pandemonium of New Year’s Eve in Times Square.
“This is one of those days that all of us would say we’ll never forget,” CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer said, in words that were echoed in a midafternoon speech by President Barack Obama.
The climax of the 18-day revolution came suddenly Friday, in a short speech by Vice President Omar Suleiman that Mubarak had resigned and turned power over to the military.
“It was so brief I thought I had missed it,” said NBC News reporter Richard Engel. “Then the crowds around me began to cheer.”
Each of the broadcast networks interrupted regular daytime programming for special reports within five minutes. NBC’s Brian Williams was the only one of the top three anchors on duty (David Muir was on for Diane Sawyer for ABC; Jeff Glor for Katie Couric on CBS). He was quickest to catch the historic import of the moment and the extraordinary nature of the response, pausing for 15 seconds and suggesting viewers simply listen.
