Ronald B. Scott
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Ronald Bruce Scott (October 4, 1945 – February 20, 2020) was an American author, journalist, media advisor and former staff writer for ''
Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...
'', and also a member of a small editorial team that founded ''
People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''Peopl ...
'' in 1974. He was best known for '' Mitt Romney: An Inside Look at the Man and His Politics'', his 2011 independent biography of then presidential candidate
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
,Gordon, Jesse.
An Inside Look at the Man and His Politics
. ''OnTheIssues'', April 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2014
written from the point of view of a critical but fellow member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
(LDS Church). In 2005, Scott became the first commentator to highlight how Romney changed his positions on both abortion and same-sex marriage during his bid for presidential election. Born in
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
, Utah, Scott worked briefly for United Press International in 1970 before accepting a position with Time, Inc. in New York, where he reported for its magazines ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
, Sports Illustrated'' and ''
Life Magazine ''Life'' (stylized as ''LIFE'') is an American magazine launched in 1883 as a weekly publication. In 1972, it transitioned to publishing "special" issues before running as a monthly from 1978 to 2000. Since then, ''Life'' has irregularly publi ...
'', and ''People''. His debut novel ''Closing Circles: Trapped in the Everlasting Mormon Moment'' was published in 2012, followed by his second novel, ''The Mending'', in February 2019. Scott died on February 20, 2020, after a short battle with cancer. He lived in Westport, Connecticut and had been working on a third novel, part of a collection of loosely connected short stories.About R. B. Scott
. themuss.net. Retrieved March 10, 2019
He was the father of five children, grandfather of three, and was married to Diana Lynn Watt Scott for more than 43 years.


Life

Scott was born in
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
, Utah to Robert Ronald Scott and Lillian Haws Scott. From 1965-67 he served as a full-time volunteer missionary for Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
. He studied journalism at the
University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...
while a reporter for ''
The Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History ...
'' and ''
The Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is a multi-platform newspaper based in Salt Lake City, published by Deseret News Publishing Company, a subsidiary of Deseret Management Corporation, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS ...
''. He worked briefly for
UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...
in 1970 before taking a position with Time, Inc. in New York City.Smith, Ben.
A Complicated Romney Family
. ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...
'', November 22, 2011. Retrieved March 30, 2019
Later he wrote for ''Time'', ''
Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
'' and ''
Life Magazine ''Life'' (stylized as ''LIFE'') is an American magazine launched in 1883 as a weekly publication. In 1972, it transitioned to publishing "special" issues before running as a monthly from 1978 to 2000. Since then, ''Life'' has irregularly publi ...
'', and was a member of the small editorial team that founded ''
People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''Peopl ...
'' in 1974. His two novels have been compared in style to the works of
John Cheever John William Cheever (May 27, 1912 – June 18, 1982) was an American short story writer and novelist. He is sometimes called "the Chekhov of the suburbs". His fiction is mostly set on the Upper East Side of Manhattan; the Westchester suburbs ...
and
Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (; March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short-story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophical ...
. He worked as a senior corporate officer of
Lotus Development Lotus Software (called Lotus Development Corporation before its acquisition by IBM) was an American software company based in Massachusetts; it was sold to India's HCL Technologies in 2018. Lotus is most commonly known for the Lotus 1-2-3 sprea ...
based in
Cambridge, MA Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 U.S. census was 118, ...
, the software developer of 1-2-3 and
Lotus Notes HCL Notes (formerly Lotus Notes then IBM Notes) is a proprietary collaborative software platform for Unix ( AIX), IBM i, Windows, Linux, and macOS, sold by HCLTech. The client application is called Notes while the server component is branded ...
, and at
Ogilvy & Mather Ogilvy is a New York City-based British advertising, marketing, and public relations agency. It was founded in 1850 by Edmund Mather as a London-based agency. In 1964, the firm became known as Ogilvy & Mather after merging with a New York City a ...
, a global advertising and communications company based in Manhattan.


Career


Journalism

Scott wrote on subjects ranging from
Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...
to the physician and inventor Willem "Pim" Kolff. After Ali's championship victory in Kinshasa, Zaire, Scott travelled with him throughout the United States and was the first to report that Ali was likely married to two women simultaneously; Belinda Boyd Ali and her "travelling companion" Veronica Porche. For ''People Magazine'', he helped cover the
1976 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 2, 1976. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ticket of former Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia Governor of Georgia, governor Jimmy ...
of
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
and prepared numerous stories on the Carter family, including several on "First Brother"
Billy Carter William Alton Carter (March 29, 1937 – September 25, 1988) was an American farmer, businessman, brewer, and politician. The younger brother of U.S. President Jimmy Carter, he promoted Billy Beer and Peanut Lolita; and he was a candidate for ...
.Scott, Ronald B. "Fame Wraps Its Arms Around Brother Billy and So Far He Says Only 'Squeeze Me Harder'". ''People Magazine'', Volume 7, No. 23, June 13, 1977


Non-fiction

In a 2005 article for ''
Sunstone Sunstone is a microcline or oligoclase feldspar, which when viewed from certain directions exhibits a aventurescence, spangled appearance. It has been found in Southern Norway, Sweden, various United States localities and on some beaches along ...
'', Scott highlighted
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
's move to the populist right on abortion, stem cell research, gun control and gay rights. The article was subsequently widely quoted or used as a
primary source In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an Artifact (archaeology), artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was cre ...
on Romney's early political career.Ronald B. Scott
.
Authors Guild The Authors Guild is the United States' oldest and largest professional organization for writers and provides advocacy on issues of free expression and copyright protection. Since its founding in 1912 as the Authors League of America, it has coun ...
. Retrieved 30 March 2019
In 2011 he published '' Mitt Romney: An Inside Look at the Man and His Politics''. He had begun the project in 2010, when he had been assured that the book would be authorized and written with the cooperation of the family.Lott, Jeremy.
Book Review: 'Mitt Romney'
. ''
The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...
'', May 21, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2019
Both had very similar family histories, and are distant cousins; in Scott's words, "it is a classic Mormon arrangement, we share the same great-great-grandfather, but different great-great-grandmothers." Scott was aware of Romney at BYU when he was an editor at Utah, and had idolized his father,
George W. Romney George Wilcken Romney (July 8, 1907 – July 26, 1995) was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as chairman and president of American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1962, the 43rd gove ...
. However, Romney's team wanted heavy editorial input into the book, and after a number of consultations and providing drafts to campaign officials such as Romney's chief spokesman campaign chief Eric Fehrnstrom and
Beth Myers Beth Myers (born 1957) is an American political consultant, campaign advisor, and attorney who has held senior positions in the political campaigns and the Massachusetts governorship of Mitt Romney, the nominee of the Republican Party for Presiden ...
,Bringburst (2012), p. 150 Scott ultimately decided he wanted to maintain control and thus the book was published unauthorized. However Scott did maintain close contacts with some members of the family and campaign, and the book is built from numerous first hand interviews.Bringburst (2012), p. 148 Because the family was generally not accessible to the media, Scott became one of the few available people to turn to for family information, and was thus frequently interviewed during this period. A review in the political magazine ''
On the Issues On the Issues or OnTheIssues is an American non-partisan, non-profit organization providing information to American voters on American candidates, primarily via their website. The organization was started in 1996, went non-profit in 2000, and is ...
'' said that the book provides numerous new insights into the evolution of Romney's stances, often focusing on how the
LDS Church The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded during ...
viewed the issue and how Romney reconciled his views with the church's views...It's not explicitly about Mormonism at all—but the author is a Mormon who knew Romney well through church ties, and who evidently did not like Romney very much. Hence it is an unauthorized biography, which to readers means it is more honest than one which must pass muster with the Romney campaign." Scott's assessments of Romney's skills as a politician were mixed. He described him as pragmatic and a problem solver, but also noting that he was a "control freak" who "doesn't read people well" and "doesn't anticipate blindside attacks and therefore is ill prepared to deal with them". At numerous points he criticizes him as a "flip-flopper".Bringburst (2012), pp. 148-49


Fiction

His debut novel ''Closing Circles: Trapped in the Everlasting Mormon Moment'', set primarily in Manhattan and its suburb of Westport, Connecticut, was published in 2012. It was followed in February 2019 by ''The Mending''.


Works

* ''Mitt Romney: An Inside Look At The Man and His Politics''. WA: Globe Pequot Press, 2011. * ''Closing Circles: Trapped In The Everlasting Mormon Moment''. WA: Gray Dog Press, 2011. * ''The Mending''. New York: Austin Macauley Publishers, 2019.


References


Sources

* Bringburst, Newell G. "Three Differing Book-length Perspectives on Mitt Romney and the Mormon Question". ''The John Whitmer Historical Association Journal'', Volume 32, No. 1, Spring/Summer 2012. pp. 148–153.


External links


Archive of Scott's articles for People Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Ronald Bruce 1945 births 2020 deaths American male journalists American male novelists Writers from Salt Lake City Novelists from Boston Writers from Westport, Connecticut Journalists from New York City University of Utah alumni American Latter Day Saints 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) Novelists from Utah 21st-century American non-fiction writers Sportswriters from New York (state) Sportswriters from Massachusetts