Scott Pelley and Sharyn Alfonsi, two correspondents dropped from CBS's 60 Minutes in a May shakeup, have been named journalists in residence at Columbia University's journalism school. The appointment gives students access to two veteran investigative reporters at a time when their departure has fuelled scrutiny of editorial independence at the long-running news programme.

At Columbia, the pair will lead lectures, workshops and special events with students, and each will write a piece for the Columbia Journalism Review, with dean Jelani Cobb praising their "distinguished track records in investigative reporting". Both cited editorial interference around their exits: Alfonsi, along with fellow ousted correspondent Cecilia Vega, said management had tried to insert political bias into her reporting, including delaying a story on the CECOT prison that later aired with new framing, while Pelley told the New York Times he had been told to "inject falsehoods and bias" into a politically sensitive story after clashing with new executive producer Nick Bilton. CBS News has denied the allegations, describing the disputes as normal editorial back-and-forth.