Media have become more important and invasive in our lives than ever. Whether online, TV, video, wireless or wearable devices, Americans can’t seem to survive more than a few minutes without it.

It thus stands to reason that a newly established Federal Communications Commission led by incoming Chairman Brendan Carr will expand the agency's reach into areas where more and more Americans are engaged. As such, it could become as important and intrusive in our lives as the very media it regulates.

Under Carr, there will be a few overarching principles that will guide the agency's direction — less regulation, unfettered consolidation and America First. But there also will be some new practices that will shape its profile.

We can expect Chairman Carr to reconfigure the vast amount of power that FCC bureaus now have and to centralize that decision-making in the office of the chairman. Currently, bureaus wield extraordinary power to deny or approve satellite and broadcast licenses, levy fines and penalties, and derail deals on procedural grounds that often determine outcomes, as in the Tegna-Standard General travesty.

Whereas consumer issues have held sway at the FCC since Barack Obama, the new FCC is sure to rebalance the scales in favor of business. The commission has relied on a number of "advisory groups" whose members include public interest and industry representatives to inform their decisions on consumer issues. Although valuable, these groups are likely to be streamlined — or sidelined altogether.

Removing restrictions on broadcast ownership should be among the first items to pass, a decision that will allow leading TV station groups like Nexstar (which acquired The Hill in 2021), Sinclair and Fox Television to better compete in a changed and competitive market. They have been clamoring for a more current definition of the media market, which includes the panoply of new........

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