He Will Be Missed: Legendary CNBC Anchor Mark Haines Dies Unexpectedly at 65, Rest in Peace (video)
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on May 25, 2011
CNBC's Mark Haines, seen here with former business news co-anchor Erin Burnett, died last night at age 65
So sad — legendary CNBC anchor Mark Haines suddenly passed away last night at his home. Highly opinionated and brutally honest, but beloved and respected, Haines was only 65.
Haines had a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania and was a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, CNBC reports. He joined CNBC in 1989 after having worked as a news anchor in Philadelphia (KYW-TV), in New York (WABC-TV), and in Providence (WPRI-TV). He became one of the network’s most prominent newscasters — he was the founding anchor for the morning show, “Squawk Box.” Haines is survived by his wife, Cindy, his son, Matt, and daughter, Meredith. The cause of his death has not been disclosed.
Rest in peace, Mark.
Classic Haines interview with Massachusetts’ blustery Rep. Barney Frank that I posted in June 2009:
“This interview is over!” Barney Frank Indignant Over CNBC’s Mark Haines’ Question about Executive Pay
Another classic from 2009 — as usual, Haines speaks his mind, calls Arianna Huffington “clueless.”
From E! Online, CNBC Anchor Mark Haines Dead at 65:
Respected journalist Mark Haines, the CNBC anchor who had been with the network since 1989, died at his home Tuesday evening. He was 65.
The sad news of Haines’ passing was announced this morning by CNBC anchor Carl Quintanilla while reading a statement onair from the network’s president, Mark Hoffman, who called Haines “one of the building blocks of CNBC from the very beginning.”
During his time there, Haines served as the founding anchor for the morning show Squawk Box and later became co-host of Squawk on the Street.
“With his searing wit, profound insight and piercing interview style, he was a constant and trusted presence in business news for more than 20 years,” Hoffman added in his statement. “From the dotcom bubble to the tragic events of 9/11 to the depths of the financial crisis, Mark was always the unflappable pro.”
Erin Burnett on Haines’ Passing
Touching piece posted by Eric Jackson at Forbes — here’s the opening, Why Mark Haines Was Special:
CNBC anchor Mark Haines died unexpectedly last night at 65.
Like most, I grew up over the last 15 years watching him first in the morning on Squawk Box with Joe Kernan and David Faber (the best show ever on CNBC in my opinion) and for the last 5.5 years with Erin Burnett on Squawk on the Street.
I loved watching him.
He stood out because he was authentic. He was authentic because he actually had an opinion.
He was willing to disagree with guests and challenge their unverified “talking points.” And not just in a polite way but in a direct and passionate way.
I didn’t always agree with Mark’s views, but it was so refreshing to watch someone say on TV what most were thinking at home.
Why is this so unique? Unfortunately, not just in business TV journalism but in journalism in general, something has happened in the last 15 years.
Mark Haines or Andy Rooney wouldn’t be hired if they were 25 and trying to break into the business today. They would be seen as not playing by the rules or full of themselves. Opinions and investigative journalism aren’t welcome in journalism today — especially not on television.
If you are some 20-something and aspire to be on TV today, you had better be good-looking and articulate. You don’t have to even [know] that much about business. Let’s face it, you can fake it. Producers can whisper in your ear, you can read the teleprompter, you can be told how to pronounce certain words, or how to calculate fair value of the S&P Futures.
Mark Haines got cut some slack even though some rolled their eyes at his rants because he was there at CNBC from the ground floor. He did his thing and he knew his stuff. No one was going to show him the door.
It’s only now, that he’s gone, that we look around and realize the void around us in Business TV. We need opinions. We need passion. We need people who speak truth to power. We won’t care what they look like even — they can be fat, balding, or otherwise nondescript, as long as they deliver the goods.
From Mail Online, CNBC anchor Mark Haines dies suddenly, aged 65:
…The TV personality, who anchored the CNBC morning ‘Squawk Box’ show, passed away at his home, the station said. The cause of death has not yet been released.
Tributes immediately began pouring in for the host, with colleagues calling him an ‘unflappable pro’ who will be ‘deeply missed’.
[...]
‘Mark loved CNBC and we loved him back. He will be deeply missed.’
Haines was known as an endearing older gentleman and was often teased on air about his love of junk food.
On her final show a few weeks ago, co-anchor Erin Burnett gave him Cheetos chapstick as a leaving gift.
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange paused for a moment’s silence this morning to mark Haines’s passing.
‘He worked his way into this community very well. When the news popped out this morning it swept across the floor in a manner usually reserved for some large geopolitical event that moves markets,’ Art Cashin, director of floor operations for UBS, told CNBC.com.
From NY Times, Mark Haines, CNBC Anchor, Dies at 65:
Mark Haines, a longtime anchor at CNBC, died at his home on Tuesday evening, the network said on its Web site. He was 65.
CNBC did not disclose the cause of death.
A longtime TV news veteran who did stints in New York City and Philadelphia before attending law school, Mr. Haines joined the then-fledgling CNBC in 1989 and became one of the network’s most prominent faces.
In 1995, he became the first host of “Squawk Box,” helping to develop the early-morning show into must-see viewing for Wall Street, leavening discussions about fast-moving stocks with banter about pop culture and personalities.
In 2005, he became the co-host of another CNBC morning show, “Squawk on the Street,” with Erin Burnett. (Earlier this month, Ms. Burnett left the network to join CNN.)
Known for his rumpled appearance — a 2000 article in Fast Company described his look as “a butcher forced to wear a business suit” — Mr. Haines became known as a wry, if sometimes curmudgeonly, emcee. But with his glasses perched on the end of his nose, he also became known as a sharp-tongued interviewer, often bluntly battling with guest chief executives over their companies.
His unpolished demeanor, coupled with knowledge of the markets, helped model a kind of personality that appealed to financial executives.
“If we don’t get people who watch, we’re out of business,” he told The Chicago Tribune in 1998. “At the same time, you have to have a core of people who understand business.”
Joe Kernen, who co-hosted “Squawk Box” with Mr. Haines, said that his colleague’s influence on CNBC stretched well beyond the morning, given his presence at the network from its inception.
“His fingerprints were on everything,” Mr. Kernen said in a telephone interview.
Mr. Kernen pointed to Sept. 11, 2001 as Mr. Haines’s single most important day as an anchor, when he calmly reported on developments about the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
Mr. Haines was “the nicest gruff guy you will ever meet,” Jonathan Wald, formerly CNBC’s senior vice president of business news, wrote on Twitter on Wednesday morning. Mr. Wald added that the anchor “epitomized the brand, loved the news, cared deeply.”
From HedgeFund.net:
The station [CNBC] paused its regular news programs Wednesday morning to record reactions from its anchors and traders.
Mad Money’s Jim Cramer said that while Haines wasn’t about making calls, he called the dot-com bubble.
Before joining CNBC in 1989, Haines joined CNBC worked as a news anchor from KYW-TV in Philadelphia, WABC-TV in New York, and WPRI-TV in Providence.
Jonathan Wald, executive producer of Piers Morgan Tonight, and who was previously a news executive at CNBC, said on his Twitter feed: “Mark Haines was the franchise. Epitomized the brand, loved the news, cared deeply.”
“He really called it as he saw it without condescension or hubris,” George Lucaci, senior managing director of brokerage firm Direct Access Partners told HedgeFund.net, “A hard line to walk in an era of overblown egos and megalomaniacal, self promoting personalities.”
From CNBC: Mark Haines: Phil LeBeau Remembers:
It’s hard to say just how much Mark Haines will be missed, how much I will miss Mark.
Being in the Chicago Bureau, the vast majority of my dealings with Mark were over the air. Like so many others at CNBC, I felt I had received the “stamp of approval” when Mark gave me a nickname. At first it was Phil “real men drive minivans” LeBeau in reference to the fact I owned (and loved) a minivan at the time. Later, he changed it to Phil “floor on the floor” LeBeau and Phil “flaps down” LeBeau whenever I did an airline or aviation story. I would occasionally tell friends the nicknames bothered me, when in fact I loved them and loved that Mark gave them to me.
What I remember most about working with Mark is his ability to cut through the BS, especially when the automakers were sliding toward bankruptcy.
As the story developed and auto executives and politicians (from both the Bush and Obama administrations) would come on to state their position, Mark would call them out. When the CEO’s of the Big Three flew to Capitol Hill for Congressional hearings and were testifying why GM and Chrysler should be bailed out, Mark cut through the posturing by the CEO’s and lawmakers. At a time when people were saying, “You can’t let the Big Three go under” Mark would say “Why not? If they can’t get their act together, we shouldn’t save them just to save them.”
More than once Mark and I sparred on air about what was happening with the Big Three as they were losing billions of dollars.
I loved those exchanges.
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