Less advocacy, more journalism. Changes at CNN and New York Times may signal push to the centre

An advertisement for CNN+ is displayed in Manhattan on 21 April. The subscription service is to close on 30 April. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The highest echelons of the US media were once again in the spotlight this week, after CNN this week abandoned a newly launched streaming service and the New York Times appointed a prominent Bostonian to lead it.

CNN+ will shut down on 30 April, about a month after it was launched with a $300m investment. The new owner of the network, Warner Bros Discovery – itself the product of a $43bn merger between AT&T and the Discovery Network – decided a subscription-based streaming service was unfeasible. Only 100,000 users had signed up.