Politico.com screenshot minutes after Hosni Mubarak announces his resignation.
The world has watched with great anticipation over the past few weeks as protesters in Egypt took the streets in dramatic fashion, demanding that long-time ruler Hosni Mubarak resign. The octogenarian head of state waffled, stating his intention not to run for re-election in September and assuring a transition of power to his vice president Omar Suleiman. Finally, after yesterday’s address that insisted the leader would not step down, Suleiman officially announced that Mubarak indeed will resign. Politico has covered the story from the perspective of the White House and the rest of American politics. Since this news is breaking and still in progress, here are some quick thoughts on the site’s coverage of Mubarak’s resignation:
- The lead is a large above the fold image of Mubarak on state television addressing his people for the last time as their leader – as it should. A photo of protesters waving a large Egyptian flag also adorned the homepage.
- The link leads to an article detailing the course of events, protesters’ jubilant reactions and the American response, namely President Obama’s plans to address the media at 1:30 outside the White House. A thirty-second video of Suleiman’s address is clearly displayed
- Two more articles under the headine are related to the latest developments. One is the “44“, or President Obama’s running diary, with blog text announcing “Finally, A Result” and Obama’s plans to make a statement.
- The second is the “Arena”, or “daily debate with policymakers and opinion shapers,” has the topic, “A Berlin Wall Moment for Egypt?” Moderator David Mark asks questions about what the move means and what’s next, and three responses are listed so far with possibly more to follow.
In what is clearly a fluid and significant course of events, Politico has deftly responded, removing yesterday’s content about Mubarak’s faux-resignation and replaced it with timely analysis and response. Be sure to check Politico and other media outlets for how the rest of the situation will play out.
– PW
