Scott D. Pierce, who wrote about television for more than 30 years as a critic for The Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News, died today at 64. His death was confirmed. by his partner Rob Sonoda, but no cause was given.
Pierce started his as a TV critic on March 31, 1990 at the Deseret News.
Pierce wrote for the Deseret News for 20 years, losing the job in 2010 in a round of layoffs that affected 43% of that newspaper’s staff. A Tribune editor called him the next day to offer him a role as a reporter.
At The Tribune, his duties expanded beyond TV criticism. He wrote general features and the occasional theater review. He later worked the early-morning breaking news shift, covering police shootings and anything else that happened overnight, while continuing to cover entertainment.
In a message to the newsroom Friday, Tribune executive editor Lauren Gustus wrote, “He was a friend to many of us.” In addition to working with longtime Tribune staff, she said, “he also welcomed the newest reporters, making an effort to find connections with folks who had recently joined us.”
Gustus noted that Pierce “had a conversational style that made him easy to read, and a willingness to take on anything journalism happened to throw his way on any given day.”
Pierce was one of the original panelists on the popular “Geek Show Podcast,” starting in 2008. He stayed on the show for six or seven years, said Kerry Jackson, the podcast’s creator and co-host of X96′s “Radio From Hell” program.
Pierce was also a longtime member of the Television Critics Association, and attended its twice-yearly press tours in Los Angeles for many years. Some years, he emceed TCA’s awards ceremony — which allowed him to give a 2009 lifetime achievement award to one of his TV heroes, the actress Betty White. He was TCA’s president in 2014.
Pierce’s final TV column — an interview with the creator of the filmed-in-Utah TV series “The Chosen,” about the life of Jesus — is scheduled to be published in Sunday’s print edition of The Tribune.
