An article in this week’s Broadcasting and Cable surveyed the scene of federal media politics in the U.S. in the next two years, which assumes (as is likely) that a Democratic majority in one or both houses of the U.S. Congress is in the offing.

If that’s the case, it’s apt to markedly improve progressive political activists’ prospects in the media policy sphere at the federal level, since Democrats generally speaking have been far better on media policy than Republicans. That can be a good thing. But then again, it’s also a possibility that just because Democrats are in charge that media policy activists could grow complacent and evilnasty lobbyists could lure the Democrats into the sea with their siren song and take over the ship and ram it into the rocks, or something. (Don’t you just love extended metaphors?)

It should be noted that the last three years have seen an upsurge in popular interest in media policy issues, the likes of which Americans haven’t seen in decades – all of which happened under a Republican party lockstep in Washington.

Incidentally, today marks the one-year anniversary of the CMA petition-to-deny filing at the FCC against nine Chicago-area TV stations for their broadcast licenses. We’re still waiting for the FCC to deliver their ruling. Slackers.

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