52 | NORTH & SOUTH| JUNE 2019
Today,if hegoestothepostoffice,he
meetsfivepeoplewhoallhavedifferent
viewsonwhat’sbeenpublishedinhis
papers.“Idon’tgotothesupermarket
anymore.I’dnevergetmygroceries.”
TheFlagstaffhasa circulationof
11,000andrunsto 56 pagesinfullcolour.
TheRangitotoObserver,alsofortnightly,
hasa similarcirculation.Drentsaysthe
paperscovereverythingfromferry
crashestoschoolfairs.Crimestoriesfea-
ture,butnotexcessively– Devonporthas
thelowestcrimerateinNewZealand.
TheFlagstaffhascampaignedsuccess-
fullyagainstsalesofsyntheticcannabis
indairiesandadvocatedforheritagepro-
tection.Drentwonthebestcommunity
reporterawardintheVoyagerMedia
Awardslastyearforanentrythatinclud-
edaninvestigationintorenthikesbya
largepropertyowner(he’snominatedin
thatcategoryagainthisyear).Thepaper
is fiercelylocalandtriestogetatleast 50
localfacesineachissue.“Peoplewholive
heretrustthepapers,evenwhentheyare
dividedonissues.Withlocalpapers,
peoplefeeltheyarepartofsomething.”
He first thought about a second paperROBDRENT
DEVONPORTFLAGSTAFF
ANDRANGITOTOOBSERVER
RobDrentdoesn’texpecttobethe
RupertMurdochofNewZealandmedia.
“MorelikeRupertMinnow,”hesays.But
he’sjustlaunchedhissecondnewspaper
inoneofAuckland’shighlypopulated
andfast-growingharboursidesuburbs.
Drenthasownedandeditedthefort-
nightlyDevonportFlagstafffor 22 years.
Thepint-sizedpaper(thesamesizeas
a stapledmagazine),isaninstitutionin
thewealthybaysidevillageonAuck-
land’sNorthShore,famedforitscafes,
boutiquebusinessesandnavalbase.In
February,helauncheda sisterpaper,the
RangitotoObserver, whichcoversthe
neighbouringareafromTakapunato
Sunnynook.Itwasa logicalmove,he
says.“Thecommunitiesareservedby
thesamelocalboard,whichmakesde-
cisionsthataffectthemall.Wearethe
publicwatchdog.”
HeboughttheDevonportFlagstaffin
1997 becausehesawitspotential,and
becausehewasdonewiththedaily
pressanda revolvingdoorofeditors.
“You’dwritea hard-newsstoryabout
somemassiveinjusticeand get no feed-
back from the public.”twinsons,GlenandSean,andGlen’s
wifeLucyCorryareWellington-based
journalists(Seanis nowa senioradviser
toLabour’sDamienO’Connor).Sean’s
wife,alsoLucy,isa lawyerandtaxana-
lyst.SonTroyandhiswifeCasey,who
liveinWestport,contributebusiness
nousandhelpwithhealthandsafety.
Scanlonandherhusbandareintheir
60s;shehadreducedherworkhours
beforetheyrealisedthepapercouldfold.
“Wecouldn’tletthathappen.”Theteam
alsogoestogreatlengthstoensuredeliv-
ery– barringpressmishaps.“Whenwe
hada cyclonelastyearandtherunners
couldn’tgetthrough,themanager,plus
herhusbandandkids,andI delivered
paperstothefloodedareas.”Alongthe
way,shealsodidsomesandbagging.
Readersareappreciative.MarieElder,
a formerWellingtonsecondaryschool
teacherwhonowlivesatPunakaiki,has
beena subscriberfor 10 years,andsays
thenewspaperprovidesherwithallthe
newssheneeds(“includingthescuttle-
butt”).“Ittellsmewhatwewouldn’thave
foundoutif it wasn’tforgoodreporting.
It takes courage to run a newspaper.”
EditorRobDrentdeliversRangitoto
Observernewspapers,includingto
The Booklover in Milford, Auckland.
KEN DOWNIE