Charles D. Tobin chairs Holland & Knight's National Media Practice Team. A former journalist, Mr. Tobin has appeared in state and federal courts around the country, representing the media in libel and privacy lawsuits at both the trial and appellate levels. He also conducts pre-publication review for newsrooms and provides advice on subpoenas, access, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), reporter's privilege, and all other First Amendment matters relating to the editorial content of newspapers and broadcasts. In addition, he counsels business clients on commercial disparagement, unfair competition and Lanham Act issues.
Mr. Tobin offers clients the benefits of an insider's knowledge of the news media. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, he spent eight years as in-house counsel at the Northern Virginia headquarters of Gannett Co., Inc., which publishes USA TODAY and owns newspapers and television stations throughout the country. Previously, he was in private practice with a Jacksonville, FL, law firm that handled most of the major press-law issues in the region, and he taught a class in media law and ethics at the University of North Florida. Before Mr. Tobin attended law school, he was a reporter for the News-Press newspaper in Ft. Myers, FL.