The National Association of Black Journalists accused NBC of “whitewashing” following the announcement that Tamron Hall is leaving the network.
“The National Association of Black Journalists is saddened by Tamron Hall’s departure from NBC,” the organization wrote on its website on Wednesday, February 1. “She broke ground as the first black female ‘Today Show’ cohost and was enjoying ratings success alongside Al Roker during the show’s third hour of programming. NBC has been a leader for diversity in broadcasting, but recent reports that Hall and Roker will be replaced by former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly are being seen by industry professionals as whitewashing.”
On Thursday, an NBC spokesperson issued a response. “NBC News has a long and proven history as an industry leader in newsroom diversity,” the statement reads. “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.”
Earlier this week, NBC announced that Hall, 46, was leaving NBC and MSNBC. She joined the Today show in 2014 and MSNBC in 2007.
“Tamron Hall will be leaving NBC News and MSNBC when her contract expires this month,” the company said in a statement on Wednesday. “[January 31] was her last day as an anchor on both networks. Tamron is an exceptional journalist, we valued and enjoyed her work at Today and MSNBC and hoped that she would decide to stay. We are disappointed that she has chosen to leave, but we wish her all the best.”
As Us Weekly previously reported, Hall was told only “minutes before going on air Friday that she and Al were being taken off the show for Megyn Kelly.” Last month, Kelly, 46, announced she was saying goodbye to Fox News after 12 years for a new role at NBC.
“She was a wreck in commercial breaks and couldn’t believe the company would tell her just before going live on MSNBC,” the source told Us of Hall. “It was especially surprising after receiving an email of praise from the co-executive producer just days before about how they were No. 1 in the ratings for seven weeks in a row.”
Hall released a statement about the matter on Wednesday. “The last 10 years have been beyond anything I could have imagined, and I’m grateful,” she said. “I’m also very excited about the next chapter. To all my great colleagues, I will miss you and I will be rooting for you.”
