Journalism, I think rightly, has historically been ruled by ethical standards unique to itself. A free press requires the use of sources protected and cultivated by the individual journalists. One could argue as you have that CBS paid for and thus owns her work product. The issue is will CBS continue pursuing her work and more importantly keep her sources confidential. One historical safeguard against a news organization releasing the names of confidential sources, is for the individual journalist maintaining sole custody of their sources identities. CBS has broken with this precedence and it is not hard to figure out why.
You wrote that without laughing? Over the last 10-20 years they openly disgarded any ethical standards. They no longer investigate, they no longer report the truth, they no longer leave their personal bias, bigotry, and views at the door. I've seen repeated comments by well-known reporters saying their views must be shared, are more important than the truth.