Liz Hayes pays tribute to her late Today co-host, George Negus

He was a titan of Australian journalism, from being a founding member of 60 Minutes, to hosting Today in the 1980s, George Negus has forever shaped the way we see the world.

Since news of his passing yesterday, aged 82, tributes have flooded in from friends, family and colleagues, all sharing the impact the star broadcaster left on their lives.

Award-winning Nine journalist, Liz Hayes, co-hosted Today with George from 1986 until 1990 and she said his time on the show was where the nation really got the chance to "see the real George".

HONOURING GEORGE NEGUS: Leave your tributes here

"Today was brand new for him, as we know it's a different dance to 60 Minutes, but he embraced that and I think it was one of the great times in his journalistic life," Liz told Karl and Sarah.

"He had so many, but we saw a lot more of George when he hosted Today, if I can put it that way, we got to see him ask all those hard questions that have to be asked with news stories, but he could then relax into another George whether it be for cooking, the gardening, the human stories, he was very capable of doing it all."

Liz said there was nobody like George on television at the time and his personality was unique and he brought his own unique brand of journalism to the Australian audience.

"I think he had a really strong personality, a great presence and he just said it as he understood it, felt it, thought it and how he wanted you to hear it," she said.

"I think George was potent, you know, he was very, very much the bloke with the voice that was going to tell you how it was going to be, but he was quite gentle at the same time."

Liz shared more about her time at the Today desk with George, revealing he wasn't a fan of the early wake-up call.

"He hated the mornings, but he's not alone in that, he'd get up and I recall he'd sit in make-up and hair and he'd be fidgeting and worrying that something doesn't look right," she said.

"It was just the wrong time for him, but he made a really good fist of it, to be honest and I think what I loved about him was that I found the man, I found the dad, I found the loving partner and I found the very generous co-host and enquiring mind and that's a great combo, isn't it?"

READ MORE: How George Negus' storytelling captivated a generation of Australians

Karl also shared how big an impact George had on his career, revealing he was the reason he pursued a role in the media.

"He was the reason why I decided that I wanted to be a journalist and I'm sure there are others who are inspired by him," Karl said.

"It was just the swashbuckling through the desert, it was the brutal first and one-line questions, he was kind of everything that was fresh and exciting about this world that few of us had seen before."

Hear Today's full chat with Liz Hayes in the video above