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{{Short description|Conservative news website in North Carolina}}
{{Infobox Newspaper
{{Infobox Newspaper
| name = Rhinoceros Times
| name = The Rhino Times
| image =
| image =
| caption =
| caption =
| type = Weekly [[newspaper]]
| type = Daily [[newspaper]]
| format = [[Tabloid]] ([[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]] edition only) <br> [[Internet]] (Greensboro and [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte editions)<ref name="Washburn">{{cite news |title=Rhino Times paper ends, stays online |author=Washburn, Mark |url=http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2008/09/19/201012/rhino-times-paper-ends-stays-online.html |newspaper=[[The Charlotte Observer]] |date=2008-09-19 |accessdate=2011-09-13 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/61gE8U6YB |archivedate=2011-09-13 }}</ref>
| format = [[Internet]] (Greensboro and [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]] editions)<ref name="Washburn">{{cite news |title=Rhino Times paper ends, stays online |author=Washburn, Mark |url=http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2008/09/19/201012/rhino-times-paper-ends-stays-online.html |newspaper=[[The Charlotte Observer]] |date=2008-09-19 |accessdate=2011-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120919210713/http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2008/09/19/201012/rhino-times-paper-ends-stays-online.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-09-19 }}</ref>
| foundation = 1991
| foundation = 1991
| ceased publication =
| ceased publication = 2018 (print edition)
| price =
| price =
| owners = Hammer Publishing
| owners = Scott Yost
| publisher = William Hammer
| founder = John Hammer
| publisher =
| editor = John Hammer
| language =
| editor =
| language = English
| political =
| circulation =
| political =
| circulation =
| headquarters = 216 West Market Street<br />[[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]], [[North Carolina|NC]] 27401<br />[[United States]]
| headquarters = [[Greensboro, North Carolina|Greensboro]], [[North Carolina]] <br />[[United States]]
| ISSN =
| ISSN =
| website = [http://www.rhinotimes.com www.rhinotimes.com]
| website = {{URL|rhinotimes.com}}
}}
}}


The '''''Rhinoceros Times''''' is a free weekly [[conservatism in the United States|conservative]] news and opinion newspaper published in [[Greensboro, North Carolina]], founded in 1991. A [[Charlotte, North Carolina]] print edition was founded in 2002 and discontinued in 2008.<ref name="Washburn"/>
The '''''Rhino Times''''' is a [[conservatism in the United States|conservative]] news and opinion website covering [[Guilford County, North Carolina]].


==Background==
== History ==
John Hammer founded the website. In the mid-80s, Hammer worked the door of a bar in Greensboro called The Rhinoceros Club. One day the owner asked him to create a newsletter. One side would advertise bands coming to the bar, while Hammer could put whatever he wanted on the other side. Hammer produced the newsletter until 1986.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Killian |first=Joe |date=2024-06-07 |title=Rhino Times Looks to the Future in Greensboro |url=http://www.theassemblync.com/media/rhino-times-conservative-paper-greensboro/ |access-date=2024-06-08 |website=The Assembly NC |language=en-US}}</ref>
''The Rhino'' is owned by brothers John and William Hammer and is edited by John Hammer.


Hammer founded the print newspaper '''''The Rhinoceros Times''''' in 1991.<ref name=":0" /> Another print edition was founded in [[Charlotte, North Carolina]] in 2002 and discontinued in 2008.<ref name="Washburn" />
==Features==
===Local features===
The newspaper features editorial columns by noted [[science fiction]] and fantasy author [[Orson Scott Card]] and local [[investigative reporting]] by ''[[New York Times]]'' best-selling author [[Jerry Bledsoe]].


The primary newspaper went into hundreds of thousands dollars of debt and ceased publication in 2013,<ref>{{cite web |date=2013-04-30 |title=The Rhinocerous Times to stop publishing after 21 years &#124; Piedmont |url=http://www.wxii12.com/news/local-news/piedmont/the-rhinocerous-times-to-stop-publishing-after-21-years/-/10703612/19953172/-/dgio47/-/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021143748/http://www.wxii12.com/news/local-news/piedmont/the-rhinocerous-times-to-stop-publishing-after-21-years/-/10703612/19953172/-/dgio47/-/index.html |archive-date=2013-10-21 |accessdate=2013-08-08 |website=[[WXII-TV]] |publisher=}}</ref> but it was bought by local real estate developer Roy Carroll and reopened later that year.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Covington |first=Owen |date=October 2, 2013 |title=The Rhino Times returns: What to know about its new strategy |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2013/10/02/rhino-times-counting-on-digital-first.html?page=all |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=Triad Business Journal}}</ref> It ceased print publication again in 2018 and became an online-only newspaper.<ref name="thecarrollcompanies.com">{{Cite web|title=The Carroll Companies {{!}} Rhino Times Greensboro, NC|url=https://www.thecarrollcompanies.com/snap-publications.aspx|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117004702/https://www.thecarrollcompanies.com/snap-publications.aspx|archive-date=2021-01-17|access-date=2021-03-17|website=The Carroll Companies}}</ref> In June 2024, Hammer retired and Carroll sold the website to longtime editor/writer Scott Yost.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Carroll |first=Roy E. |date=2024-05-31 |title=Roy Carroll: Why I'm Selling the Rhino Times |url=https://www.rhinotimes.com/news/roy-carroll-why-im-selling-the-rhino-times/ |access-date=2024-06-08 |website=The Rhino Times of Greensboro |language=en-US}}</ref>
The back page of the paper features a regular commentary article by editor John Hammer, ''Under the Hammer''.<ref name="hammer">''The Rhinoceros Times'' article: "[http://greensboro.rhinotimes.com/Articles-c-2010-06-23-205274.112113_Under_the_Hammer.html Under the Hammer - June 24, 2010]."</ref> In the feature, Hammer is highly critical of President [[Barack Obama]], referring almost exclusively to him as either "Barack Hussein Obama" or by his last name.<ref name="blocks">''99 Blocks'' article: "[http://www.99blocksmagazine.com/is-the-rhino-times-racist.aspx Is the Rhino Times racist?]".</ref><ref name="hammer" /> Hammer also promotes [[conspiracy theories|conspiratorial]] and [[fringe theories]] that [[Barack Obama religion conspiracy theories|Obama is a "secret Muslim"]] and [[Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories|was not born in the United States]].<ref name="hammer" /><ref name="blocks" />


==Features==
===Syndicated features===
Syndicated features include comics, such as ''[[Get Fuzzy]]'' and ''[[Pearls Before Swine (comic strip)|Pearls Before Swine]]''. Also featured are the ''New York Times'' crossword puzzle and a [[Sudoku]] puzzle.
The newspaper features editorial columns by Greensboro-based [[science fiction]] and fantasy author [[Orson Scott Card]] and local [[investigative reporting]] by ''[[New York Times]]'' best-selling author [[Jerry Bledsoe]].

The back page of the paper features a regular commentary article by editor John Hammer, "Under the Hammer".<ref name="hammer">''The Rhinoceros Times'' article: "[http://greensboro.rhinotimes.com/Articles-c-2010-06-23-205274.112113_Under_the_Hammer.html Under the Hammer - June 24, 2010]".</ref> In the feature, Hammer is highly critical of President [[Barack Obama]], referring almost exclusively to him as either "Barack Hussein Obama" or by his last name.<ref name="hammer" /><ref name="blocks">''99 Blocks'' article: "[http://www.99blocksmagazine.com/is-the-rhino-times-racist.aspx Is the Rhino Times racist?]".</ref> Hammer also promotes [[conspiracy theories|conspiratorial]] and [[fringe theories]] that [[Barack Obama religion conspiracy theories|Obama is a "secret Muslim"]] and [[Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories|was not born in the United States]].<ref name="hammer" /><ref name="blocks" />


==Controversies==
==Controversies==
===Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoon controversy===


===Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoon===
The newspaper published two of the controversial [[Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy|Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons]] in February, 2006.<ref name="Rhinoceros Times">[http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137834160853&path=!localnews&s=1037645509099 "Paper reprints hated cartoons in Greensboro"] from the ''[[Winston-Salem Journal]]''</ref>

The newspaper published two of the controversial [[Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy|Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons]] in February, 2006.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 17, 2006 |title=Paper reprints hated cartoons in Greensboro |url=https://journalnow.com/servlet/satellite/?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137834160853&path=!localnews&s=1037645509099 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927213135/https://journalnow.com/servlet/satellite/?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137834160853&path=!localnews&s=1037645509099 |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |access-date=June 6, 2024 |website=Winston-Salem Journal}}</ref>

===Ku Klux Klan===

In July 2009, the paper won a $25,000 judgment for punitive damages against an [[Arkansas]]-based [[Ku Klux Klan]] group and its leader [[Thomas Robb (Ku Klux Klan)|Thomas Robb]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-07-09 |title=Arkansas Klan Group Loses Legal Battle with North Carolina Newspaper |url=http://www.adl.org/main_Extremism/Klan-vs-Rhino-Times.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101016193251/http://www.adl.org/main_Extremism/Klan-vs-Rhino-Times.htm |archive-date=2010-10-16 |access-date= |website=[[Anti-Defamation League]]}}</ref> The case was filed in 2006 when the paper alleged the Klan inserted its fliers into ''Times'' newspapers, which then went to customers.<ref name="LegalBattleLoss">{{cite news |date=July 9, 2009 |title=Arkansas Klan Group Loses Legal Battle with North Carolina Newspaper |publisher=[[Anti-Defamation League]] |url=http://www.adl.org/main_Extremism/Klan-vs-Rhino-Times.htm |accessdate=2008-08-15}}</ref> The Klan counter-sued for defamation, but lost.<ref name="LegalBattleLoss"/> In addition to punitive damages, the paper reportedly received the nation's first permanent injunction against the KKK,<ref name="LegalBattleLoss"/> barring them from using the paper to distribute their literature in the future.


===Prisoner cartoon===
===Ku Klux Klan controversy===


In June 2011, a controversy was created when the ''Rhino Times'' published a cartoon by Geof Brooks that featured two [[African American]] men in orange [[prison jumpsuit]]s in the front yards of what appears to be two suburban homes.<ref name="gnandr">''Greensboro News & Record'' article: "[http://www.news-record.com/blog/55399/entry/121182 "Dey builds a brand new jail..."]</ref> The first character states, "Geez! Dey builds a brand new jail wit' three squares [square meals] an' [[cable television|cable]]...", and the second character concludes, "And dey puts us on [[house arrest]] so's dey can pays for it!"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edcone.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341cc33e53ef014e8955969f970d-popup |title=Rhino Times comic June 23, 2011 |publisher=Edcone.typepad.com |date=2011-06-23 |accessdate=2013-08-08}}</ref>
In July 2009, the paper won a $25,000 judgement for punitive damages and the against an [[Arkansas]]-based [[Ku Klux Klan]] group and its leader [[Thomas Robb]].<ref name="LegalBattleLoss">{{cite news | url=http://www.adl.org/main_Extremism/Klan-vs-Rhino-Times.htm | title=Arkansas Klan Group Loses Legal Battle with North Carolina Newspaper | publisher=[[Anti-Defamation League]] | date= July 9, 2009 | first= | last= | accessdate =2008-08-15}}</ref> The case was filed in 2006 when the paper alleged the Klan inserted its fliers into ''Times'' newspapers which then went to customers.<ref name="LegalBattleLoss"/> The Klan counter-sued for defamation, but lost.<ref name="LegalBattleLoss"/> In addition to punitive damages, the paper reportedly received the nation's first permanent injunction against the KKK,<ref name="LegalBattleLoss"/> barring them from using the paper to distribute their literature in the future.


Editor John Hammer apologized in the next edition of the paper, claiming that the cartoonist had intended the prisoners to be caucasian;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.regrettheerror.com/2011/06/30/rhinoceros-times-apologizes-for-racially-insensitive-cartoon/ |title=Poynter |publisher=Regret the Error |accessdate=2013-08-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://greensboro.rhinotimes.com/Articles-c-2011-06-29-208840.112113-An-Apology.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707021433/http://greensboro.rhinotimes.com/Articles-c-2011-06-29-208840.112113-An-Apology.html |archive-date=2011-07-07 |title=An Apology}}</ref> in his apology, Hammer did not address why the cartoon had been colorized as it was, nor the failure of the editors to catch the mistake. The ''[[Greensboro News & Record]]'' reported that Hammer called Guilford County Commissioners Chairman Melvin "Skip" Alston to apologize for the cartoon.<ref name="gnandr" /> Alston commented that he felt the cartoonist "might have had some racial intent".<ref name="gnandr" />
===Prisoner cartoon controversy===


===Photography arrest story===
In June 2011, a controversy was created when ''The Rhino Times'' published a cartoon by Geof Brooks that featured two [[African American]] men in orange [[prison jumpsuit]]s, in the front yards of what appears to be two suburban homes.<ref name="gnandr">''Greensboro News & Record'' article: "[http://www.news-record.com/blog/55399/entry/121182 "Dey builds a brand new jail..."]</ref> The first character states, "Geez! Dey builds a brand new jail wit' three squares [square meals] an' [[cable television|cable]]...", and the second character concludes, "And dey puts us on [[house arrest]] so's dey can pays for it!"<ref>http://edcone.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341cc33e53ef014e8955969f970d-popup</ref>


In January 2015, Editor John Hammer published a story claiming two Irish tourists were accosted, mistreated, and arrested by Greensboro police while trying to take photos in the city's Bicentennial Garden. The story, including interviews with the couple and details of their arrest, was a fabrication. In response to controversy over the story, Hammer claimed the piece was intended as satire, though the publication did not in any way label it as such. In the next week's issue, Hammer apologized to readers for not marking the piece as satire and "to the police for maligning them."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/01/hartzmans-rhino-watch-january-22-2015.html|title = EzGreensboro News: Hartzman's Rhino Watch; January 22, 2015|date = 22 January 2015}}</ref>
Editor John Hammer apologized in the next edition of the paper, claiming that the cartoonist had intended the prisoners to be caucasian;<ref>http://www.regrettheerror.com/2011/06/30/rhinoceros-times-apologizes-for-racially-insensitive-cartoon/</ref><ref>http://greensboro.rhinotimes.com/Articles-c-2011-06-29-208840.112113-An-Apology.html</ref> in his apology, Hammer did not address why the cartoon had been colorized as it was, nor the failure of the editors to catch the mistake. The ''[[Greensboro News & Record]]'' reported that Hammer called Guilford County Commissioners Chairman Melvin "Skip" Alston to apologize for the cartoon.<ref name="gnandr" /> Alston commented that he felt the cartoonist "might have had some racial intent."<ref name="gnandr" />


== References ==
== References ==
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[[Category:Newspapers published in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Newspapers published in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Media in Charlotte, North Carolina]]
[[Category:Mass media in Charlotte, North Carolina]]
[[Category:Conservative media in the United States]]
[[Category:1991 establishments in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Newspapers established in 1991]]

Latest revision as of 11:49, 17 September 2024

The Rhino Times
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatInternet (Greensboro and Charlotte editions)[1]
Owner(s)Scott Yost
Founder(s)John Hammer
Founded1991
LanguageEnglish
Ceased publication2018 (print edition)
HeadquartersGreensboro, North Carolina
United States
Websiterhinotimes.com

The Rhino Times is a conservative news and opinion website covering Guilford County, North Carolina.

History

[edit]

John Hammer founded the website. In the mid-80s, Hammer worked the door of a bar in Greensboro called The Rhinoceros Club. One day the owner asked him to create a newsletter. One side would advertise bands coming to the bar, while Hammer could put whatever he wanted on the other side. Hammer produced the newsletter until 1986.[2]

Hammer founded the print newspaper The Rhinoceros Times in 1991.[2] Another print edition was founded in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2002 and discontinued in 2008.[1]

The primary newspaper went into hundreds of thousands dollars of debt and ceased publication in 2013,[3] but it was bought by local real estate developer Roy Carroll and reopened later that year.[4] It ceased print publication again in 2018 and became an online-only newspaper.[5] In June 2024, Hammer retired and Carroll sold the website to longtime editor/writer Scott Yost.[2][6]

Features

[edit]

The newspaper features editorial columns by Greensboro-based science fiction and fantasy author Orson Scott Card and local investigative reporting by New York Times best-selling author Jerry Bledsoe.

The back page of the paper features a regular commentary article by editor John Hammer, "Under the Hammer".[7] In the feature, Hammer is highly critical of President Barack Obama, referring almost exclusively to him as either "Barack Hussein Obama" or by his last name.[7][8] Hammer also promotes conspiratorial and fringe theories that Obama is a "secret Muslim" and was not born in the United States.[7][8]

Controversies

[edit]

Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoon

[edit]

The newspaper published two of the controversial Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons in February, 2006.[9]

Ku Klux Klan

[edit]

In July 2009, the paper won a $25,000 judgment for punitive damages against an Arkansas-based Ku Klux Klan group and its leader Thomas Robb.[10] The case was filed in 2006 when the paper alleged the Klan inserted its fliers into Times newspapers, which then went to customers.[11] The Klan counter-sued for defamation, but lost.[11] In addition to punitive damages, the paper reportedly received the nation's first permanent injunction against the KKK,[11] barring them from using the paper to distribute their literature in the future.

Prisoner cartoon

[edit]

In June 2011, a controversy was created when the Rhino Times published a cartoon by Geof Brooks that featured two African American men in orange prison jumpsuits in the front yards of what appears to be two suburban homes.[12] The first character states, "Geez! Dey builds a brand new jail wit' three squares [square meals] an' cable...", and the second character concludes, "And dey puts us on house arrest so's dey can pays for it!"[13]

Editor John Hammer apologized in the next edition of the paper, claiming that the cartoonist had intended the prisoners to be caucasian;[14][15] in his apology, Hammer did not address why the cartoon had been colorized as it was, nor the failure of the editors to catch the mistake. The Greensboro News & Record reported that Hammer called Guilford County Commissioners Chairman Melvin "Skip" Alston to apologize for the cartoon.[12] Alston commented that he felt the cartoonist "might have had some racial intent".[12]

Photography arrest story

[edit]

In January 2015, Editor John Hammer published a story claiming two Irish tourists were accosted, mistreated, and arrested by Greensboro police while trying to take photos in the city's Bicentennial Garden. The story, including interviews with the couple and details of their arrest, was a fabrication. In response to controversy over the story, Hammer claimed the piece was intended as satire, though the publication did not in any way label it as such. In the next week's issue, Hammer apologized to readers for not marking the piece as satire and "to the police for maligning them."[16]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Washburn, Mark (2008-09-19). "Rhino Times paper ends, stays online". The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on 2012-09-19. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
  2. ^ a b c Killian, Joe (2024-06-07). "Rhino Times Looks to the Future in Greensboro". The Assembly NC. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
  3. ^ "The Rhinocerous Times to stop publishing after 21 years | Piedmont". WXII-TV. 2013-04-30. Archived from the original on 2013-10-21. Retrieved 2013-08-08.
  4. ^ Covington, Owen (October 2, 2013). "The Rhino Times returns: What to know about its new strategy". Triad Business Journal. Retrieved 2024-06-07.
  5. ^ "The Carroll Companies | Rhino Times Greensboro, NC". The Carroll Companies. Archived from the original on 2021-01-17. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
  6. ^ Carroll, Roy E. (2024-05-31). "Roy Carroll: Why I'm Selling the Rhino Times". The Rhino Times of Greensboro. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
  7. ^ a b c The Rhinoceros Times article: "Under the Hammer - June 24, 2010".
  8. ^ a b 99 Blocks article: "Is the Rhino Times racist?".
  9. ^ "Paper reprints hated cartoons in Greensboro". Winston-Salem Journal. February 17, 2006. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  10. ^ "Arkansas Klan Group Loses Legal Battle with North Carolina Newspaper". Anti-Defamation League. 2009-07-09. Archived from the original on 2010-10-16.
  11. ^ a b c "Arkansas Klan Group Loses Legal Battle with North Carolina Newspaper". Anti-Defamation League. July 9, 2009. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  12. ^ a b c Greensboro News & Record article: ""Dey builds a brand new jail..."
  13. ^ "Rhino Times comic June 23, 2011". Edcone.typepad.com. 2011-06-23. Retrieved 2013-08-08.
  14. ^ "Poynter". Regret the Error. Retrieved 2013-08-08.
  15. ^ "An Apology". Archived from the original on 2011-07-07.
  16. ^ "EzGreensboro News: Hartzman's Rhino Watch; January 22, 2015". 22 January 2015.
[edit]