Merry Christmas, Media Conglomerates!

Media CEOs and other highly paid suits can pop those champagne corks early this year. The vote was 3-to-2. (Who says one vote can't make a difference?)

Michael J. Copps, a Democratic commissioner who has led a nationwide effort against relaxing the media ownership rules, said the rule was nothing more than a big Christmas present to the largest conglomerates.

“In the final analysis,” Mr. Copps said, “the real winners today are businesses that are in many cases quite healthy, and the real losers are going to be all of us who depend on the news media to learn what’s happening in our communities and to keep an eye on local government.”

All the news they want you to hear or read. Great. Go ahead and start shaping the outcome of the 2008 presidential primaries while you're at it.

Oh, I'm a bit late on that one.