Veteran South African journalist Debora Patta has been dismissed from CBS News following a controversial interview with Mike Huckabee

Patta, a foreign correspondent based in Johannesburg, had spent 12 years covering international stories for CBS and was known for reporting from conflict zones including Syria, Ukraine, and the Israel-Hamas war. Sources indicate Patta’s termination followed a last-minute change by CBS’s new editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss. Reports suggest Weiss removed a male correspondent from the layoff list and added Patta’s name just hours before cuts were finalized. The network also closed its Johannesburg bureau, where Patta was based. The dismissal comes months after Patta conducted an August 7, 2025 interview with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who later accused CBS of editing the interview in a way that misrepresented his views on Gaza. Patta had recently signed a three-year contract and is reportedly considering legal action against CBS.