'Not just a co-host, but a good friend': Al Roker pays tribute to Tamron Hall on Today after she quits over Megyn Kelly's arrival - as activists demand meeting with NBC to discuss 'whitewashing'

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Al Roker praised his former co-host Tamron Hall on Thursday morning at the start of the the third hour of Today which until two days ago he hosted alongside the popular anchor while a group of activists has demanded a meeting with the network over their 'whitewashing' ofToday.

'As some of you may have heard by now, our good friend Tamron Hall has decided to leave NBC News, ' said Roker.

'Personally, Tamron has been not just a co-host here on Today’s Take for the past three years but a good friend. And not just to me, to all of us here.'

Roker then added: 'We want to wish her nothing but the best, much continued success and cannot wait to see what her next chapter is.'

Sheinelle Jones, the host of Weekend Today and MNBC Live who was filling in on Thursday, then added: 'She’s going to rock it, no matter what she does.'

The hosts then switched modes and began the show, which Roker wrote on Twitter last week has been the top-rated morning news program in its time slot for seven straight weeks.

Despite that success however the program will be taken off the schedule later this year when Megyn Kelly joins the network NBC revealed on Wednesday.

And after first learning that news last week, Hall informed the network she would be taking herself off the schedule at both NBC and MSNBC by refusing to sign a new multi-year contract that was offering her millions.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Black Journalists has requested a meeting with NBC to discuss the 'whitewashing' of the network over their decision to replace two African-American broadcasters with a white woman.

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Freids for life: Al Roker paid tribute to Tamron Hall on the third hour of Today on Thursday (above) the morning after it was revealed she had quit her job after 10 years

It takes two: 'Personally, Tamron has been not just a co-host here on Today’s Take for the past three years but a good friend. And not just to me, to all of us here,' said Roker (above with Hall in 2014)

Better days: Hall joined Roker on Today's Take in February of 2014, with the hour also including hosts Natalie Morales and Willie Geist at that time (l to r: Roker, Hall and Geist above in 2015)

In a statement on Wednesday, Hall thanked everyone at the network for all they had done for her over the years while NBC used their statement to hail Hall as an 'exceptional journalist' while stressing that it was her decision to walk away. 

'We are disappointed that she has chosen to leave, but we wish her all the best,' said the network. 

A source familiar with the discussions between Hall and the NBC told DailyMail.com: 'NBC News very much wanted Tamron to stay, she was offered a multi-million dollar/multi-year contract and she chose to go.'

There is not word as to where Hall might go next, and given her range she could easily end up back on daytime or primetime or both. 

And NBC responded to the NABJ meeting request in a statement by saying: 'NBC News has a long and proven history as an industry leader in newsroom diversity.

'We will continue to engage in the running dialogue we’ve had for many years with the National Association of Black Journalists and other advocacy groups to advance those goals.'

Hall has long been one of the hardest working personalities on the network, and in the past two months had filled in for both Savannah Guthrie on Today and Lester Holt on NBC World News Tonight while also anchoring the third hour of Today.

On one day in December she filled in for both Guthrie and Hall while also hosting MSNBC Live.

New girl: Megyn Kelly will take over Today's Take

She also hosted Deadline: Crime on Investigation Discovery and Dateline Extra on MSNBC, as well as lending her on-air talents to NBC's coverage of the Westminster Dog Show.

Roker will now anchor the third hour of Today until the show debuts their new morning lineup this fall.

Unlike Hall however, the meteorologist already had a steady gig on Today, and will continue to appear on the program's first two hours when Kelly arrives on the scene.

Today's Take had been enjoying a four-month streak without any internal drama before the news of Hall's departure, a relatively good run given the revolving door of hosts who have appeared on the program over the years. 

It all began last summer when Willie Geist announced that he would be exiting the show, which he was hosting alongside Hall, Roker and Natalie Morales at the time.

NBC used that news to play around with the format of the show and welcomed Billy Bush to the Today team while shipping off longtime anchor Natalie Morales to Los Angeles where she took Bush's Access Hollywood job.

Changes: Geist announced he was leaving in August and Morales moved to Los Angeles to host Access Hollywood, while Billy Bush came on to join Roker and Hall (l to r: Geist, Hall, Morales and Roker in early 2016)

More changes: Bush exited the show two months later with a $10m severance package after audio of him and President Trump laughing about sexual assault was leaked (l to r: Hall, Bush,Roker and Kate McKinnon in September)

Bush reportedly butted heads with some on the staff shortly after coming on board, and then found himself out of a job when audio was leaked of President Donald Trump and himself joking about the billionaire businessman sexually assaulting women. 

He reportedly got a $10million severance from the network after working a little over two months due to the fact that he had signed a three-year contract that was to pay him an annual salary of $3.5million.

It is not known how much Hall was being offered in her contract, and for how many years.

Roker and Hall somehow managed to keep the show going however by welcoming a new guest co-host almost every day since Bush left the show in a move similar to Kelly Ripa, who adopted the strategy May after Michael Strahan left her ABC morning show.