Rhino Times

The Rhino Times is a conservative news and opinion website and former free daily newspaper published in Greensboro, North Carolina, which was founded in 1991 as the Rhinoceros Times. A Charlotte, North Carolina, print edition was founded in 2002 and discontinued in 2008.[1] Its circulation in 2010 was 30,000.[2]

Rhinoceros Times
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatTabloid (Greensboro edition only)
Internet (Greensboro and Charlotte editions)[1]
Owner(s)SNAP Publications
PublisherRoy Carroll
EditorJohn Hammer
Founded1991
LanguageEnglish
Ceased publication2018 (print edition)
HeadquartersGreensboro, North Carolina
United States
Websitewww.rhinotimes.com

The Rhinoceros Times' last publication was the April 25, 2013 edition. John Hammer cited financial reasons for closing the doors after 21 years. A web presence was said to be continued as long as possible. It was acquired by local developer Roy Carroll and reopened in October 2013.[3] In 2018, the print edition ceased, but the website still operates.

Leadership
  • Publisher: Roy Carroll
  • Editor: John Hammer
  • General Manager: Cameron Sieradzan
  • County Editor: Scott D. Yost

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 back page of the paper features a regular commentary article by editor John Hammer, "Under the Hammer".[4] 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.[4][5] Hammer also promotes conspiratorial and fringe theories that Obama is a "secret Muslim" and was not born in the United States.[4][5]

Syndicated features

Syndicated features include conservative-leaning comics, such as Get Fuzzy and Pearls Before Swine. Also featured are The New York Times crossword puzzle and a sudoku puzzle.

Controversies

Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoon

The newspaper published two of the controversial Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons in February, 2006.[6]

Ku Klux Klan

In July 2009, the paper won a $25,000 judgement for punitive damages against an Arkansas-based Ku Klux Klan group and its leader Thomas Robb.[7] The case was filed in 2006 when the paper alleged the Klan inserted its fliers into Times newspapers, which then went to customers.[7] The Klan counter-sued for defamation, but lost.[7] In addition to punitive damages, the paper reportedly received the nation's first permanent injunction against the KKK,[7] barring them from using the paper to distribute their literature in the future.

Prisoner cartoon

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.[8] 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!"[9]

Editor John Hammer apologized in the next edition of the paper, claiming that the cartoonist had intended the prisoners to be caucasian;[10][11] 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.[8] Alston commented that he felt the cartoonist "might have had some racial intent".[8]

Photography arrest story

In January 2015, Editor John Hammer published a story claiming two Irish tourists were accosted, treated roughly 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 clearly marking the piece as satire and "to the police for maligning them."[12]

References
  1. 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. "The Rhinocerous Times to stop publishing after 21 years | Piedmont - WXII Home". Wxii12.com. 2013-04-30. Retrieved 2013-08-08.
  3. The Rhino Times returns: What to know about its new strategy
  4. The Rhinoceros Times article: "Under the Hammer - June 24, 2010".
  5. 99 Blocks article: "Is the Rhino Times racist?".
  6. "Paper reprints hated cartoons in Greensboro" from the Winston-Salem Journal
  7. "Arkansas Klan Group Loses Legal Battle with North Carolina Newspaper". Anti-Defamation League. July 9, 2009. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
  8. Greensboro News & Record article: ""Dey builds a brand new jail..."
  9. "Rhino Times comic June 23 2011". Edcone.typepad.com. 2011-06-23. Retrieved 2013-08-08.
  10. "Poynter". Regret the Error. Retrieved 2013-08-08.
  11. http://greensboro.rhinotimes.com/Articles-c-2011-06-29-208840.112113-An-Apology.html
  12. http://greensboroperformingarts.blogspot.com/2015/01/hartzmans-rhino-watch-january-22-2015.html
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