With the Democrats taking control of the House when the new session starts Jan. 3, lawmakers and media players are re-adjusting their strategies and preparing for a slew of new hearings and investigations.

Democrats have already started to circle their wagons around Nexstar’s proposed purchase of Tribune Media, with Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee, saying in a statement Monday that the merger “would undoubtedly lead to mass layoffs in newsrooms at a time when our free and diverse press is already under assault.”

Last week, a group of 14 organizations wrote to representatives poised to head two influential House committees asking them to hold hearings into the proposed merger of T-Mobile and SoftBank-backed Sprint, a combination that has been scuttled on the Hill before.

More at NBC News.