Cable Nets Carry First Statement from Egyptian Pres. Hosni Mubarak in Wake of Deadly Violence

As the crisis in Egypt continues — covered nearly non-stop on the 24-hour cable news networks this afternoon — we heard the first comments from Pres. Hosni Mubarak announcing that he’s asked his government to step down while defending his security forces’ crackdown on protesters. CNN began carrying Mubarak’s comments, translated from Arabic to English, at 5:17pmET (12:17am Saturday in Cairo). MSNBC began carrying Mubarak’s statement as well during “Hardball” but did not have a translator in place until after a commercial break. Fox News, with Shepard Smith pre-empting “Glenn Beck,” carried the comments with translation beginning at 5:20pm.

• Earlier on TVNewser: Networks, Cablers Rush to Cover Egypt Clashes