Mark Haines: Hampton Pearson Remembers

Mark Haines was simply the best.

On the air on 9/11, he put the entire network on his back and carried us through it all.

He was the best reporter, anchor, and citizen all rolled into one personality witnessing a horrifying event the world had never seen.

At the other end of the spectrum but also vintage Mark Haines was his creation of the Alan Greenspan "brief case indicator" on Federal Reserve meeting days.

What began in the mind of Mark Haines as a satire on the mystery and opaque workings of the Federal Reserve....took on a life of its own.

In Memoriam: Mark Haines

For a reporter he was the best kind of anchor.

He listened to what you had to say and asked all the right questions...and his "b-s filter" for reporters and guests was legendary.

You had better get your facts straight and your arguments make sense or you were in for a rough ride.

As a broadcaster he was like a virtuoso piano player ....he could play all the keys.

He was far and away one of the most authentic human beings I have ever known.

Hampton Pearson is CNBC’s Washington, D.C., reporter, covering economic, financial and political news from the nation’s capital.