David Scott: Funeral held for ‘the journalist’s journalist’

The funeral of the journalist and broadcaster David Scott, who died earlier this month aged 83, is set to take place.

Described as a titan of journalism, Scott was an influential reporter and editor for more than 30 years across Scottish newspapers and broadcasting.

He covered the trial of the Moors murderers and his reporting was crucial to the overturning of one of Scotland’s most notorious miscarriages of justice.

He retired in 1993 having revitalised STV news and current affairs and run the station as head of programmes.

But to his friends and colleagues, his greatest achievements came from his work as a dogged, passionate news journalist with “the best contacts in the business”.

Scott was born in Edinburgh in 1940 and decided early on to become a journalist.

In a radio interview with the BBC’s Colin Blane in 2009, he described how he first became interested in the trade.

“I think it started when I was probably 10, 11, 12. We lived in Edinburgh at the time and my father worked in newspaper advertising. He used to bring home some reporters and some journalists for dinner or a drink now and again,” he said.

“I was always amazed at how when people ask those reporters what’s the story behind what they thought it was and they always seemed to know the answer, and they always seemed to know who was saying what to whom and what was happening behind the scenes.

“And I was intrigued and amazed at this. And I think slowly it began to dawn on me. That’s what I wanted to do.”