NPR Creates New Rule After They Quoted One ‘Expert’ In 77 Different Stories
NPR has a resolution for 2026: Stop quoting University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias.
Tobias “appears 77 times on NPR’s website and appears to be a go-to guy for NPR and many other media outlets on a very wide range of topics,” NPR standards chief Tony Cavin reportedly complained in an email to staff. This email — the subject was “TIP: Don’t I know you from somewhere?” » — was shared with Semafor. (RELATED: NPR President Claimed With a Straight Face His Speech Wasn’t Biased. Here are 5 Times NPR Was Unapologetically Political)
“Tobias’ hobby seems to be getting quoted on anything and everything in news stories,” the email read. “He is often quoted by news agencies and, therefore, his name is probably familiar even to readers of the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong.”
Tobias’ name may also be familiar to loyal Daily Caller readers. He has been quoted no fewer than five times by the Daily Caller News Foundation, most recently in 2019, usually on topics related has judicial appointment.
The professor “often emails journalists to offer his expert opinion on the topics of the day and, while I do not presume to judge his expertise in legal matters, the professor is certainly an expert at being quoted,” Cavin reportedly wrote. “In many of these quotes, he is described as an ‘expert’ on whatever the story is about. As with other claims, I think we should exercise healthy skepticism and do our best to find alternative sources in the future.”
I can’t stop thinking about this. From what I can tell, Carl Tobias is a successful law professor, but as a hobby he spams the media with his opinions on random topics in the hopes that he will be quoted. The quotes are always quite banal. There are so many ways to live life https://t.co/aRaLqUoS0Z
– cold 🥑 (@coldhealing) December 22, 2025
“Tobias casts his net everywhere, from California to New York Island. And it’s not just on the coasts, he’s quoted by media outlets across the country, including the Minneapolis Star Tribune. [,] The Fresno Bee, the Beaver County Times in western Pennsylvania, the Superior Telegram in Duluth, Minn., and even the Chronicle in the New York suburb of Croton-on-Hudson, population 8,300,” the email continues, before proposing that “as a collective New Year’s resolution, we grant the professor a (well-deserved) leave of absence.”
There were Carl Tobias before Carl Tobias, commentators pointed out.
Anne Coulter notein 2003, that an article in the New York Times (NYT) on “Hillary-mania” was based on the testimony of a certain Gregory F. Packer. (RELATED: Hillary Clinton Immediately Starts Attacking Republicans After Telling Everyone to Stop ‘Demonizing’ Each Other)
“I’m a big fan of Hillary and Bill. I want to change her mind about running for president. I want to be part of his campaign,” Packer reportedly told the outlet.
“It was easy for the Times to spell Packer’s name correctly because he is apparently the “man” on the street referred to by the entire media for every article ever written. He has appeared in news stories more than 100 times as a random member of the public. Packer has been quoted for his reaction to military strikes against Iraq; he has been quoted at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the Thanksgiving Parade, and the Veterans Day Parade. He has been quoted not one, but two. New New Year’s Eve celebrations in Times Square He was quoted at the opening of a new “Star Wars” movie, at the opening of an H&M clothing store on Fifth Avenue, and at the opening of the viewing booth at Ground Zero. He was cited at Yankees, Mets, Jets games – and even when getting tickets to the Brooklyn Cyclones.
Packer was finally profiled by the New York Times in its own right. Packer is the “perfect local source” who “usually gets his name in the paper just by showing up. He also has a predilection for being first in line.”
There is a lesson there.
Author’s Note: I reached out to Tobias for his comments and look forward to his expert response.
Follow Natalie Sandoval on X: @NatSandovalDC
