A special milestone was hit on May 19, as it marks the 30th year that Pewter Report vice president, publisher and senior Bucs writer Scott Reynolds has been covering the Bucs. Through the years, Reynolds has built Pewter Report into the premier media enterprise for year-round Bucs coverage through in-depth reporting, insight and expert analysis, as well as his business acumen upon graduating from Kansas State University in 1995.
Reynolds has earned a reputation as one of the top Bucs reporters to cover the franchise over the past three decades and has the respect of his peers in the media room.
Pewter Report has always had a cherished connection to its fan base as a local media outlet. While there are many national websites that cover Tampa Bay, Scott Reynolds has been at the forefront of keeping Pewter Report in stride when it comes to Bucs coverage alongside other national pundits while also keeping that hometown feel that fans value so much.
Reynolds and Pewter Report serve as the eyes and ears of Bucs fans when covering the team, and offers a hometown perspective for locals with their reporting that winds up reaching all over the world through PewterReport.com and the Pewter Report Podcasts on the PewterReportTV YouTube channel.
Celebrating Scott Reynolds’ 30 Years Of Bucs Coverage
Over the past 30 years, Scott Reynolds has covered nine different Bucs head coaches and four different general managers while witnessing 12 playoff appearances, eight division titles and two Super Bowl championships. In addition to Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy, Reynolds has also covered four Buccaneers players who went into the Pro Football Hall of Fame for their time with the team in Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, John Lynch and Ronde Barber, along with one future Hall of Famer in Mike Evans and hopefully another Hall of Famer in Lavonte David.
Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds and Bucs Hall of Famer Ronde Barber – Photo by: Ashley Reynolds
Some of what has made Reynolds the best of the best is his fair, objective reporting and close connections he has forged with players and team personnel since taking over editorial duties of Buccaneer Magazine in 1995, which was the year the Glazers bought the franchise and Sapp and Brooks were drafted in the first round.
The Bucs have had plenty of success throughout the years, but there were also some down years, too. Yet Reynolds’ reporting style has never wavered.
The team has gone through many revelations and a roster overhaul recently, most notably at quarterback, going from Jameis Winston (2015-19) to Tom Brady (2020-22) and then Baker Mayfield (2023-current). From a disastrous 2-14 season under former head coach Lovie Smith, whom Reynolds boldly called to be fired during the 2015 season, to the team posting a franchise record 13 wins under Bruce Arians in 2021 – Reynolds has seen it all.
The Progression Of Pewter Report And A Statement From The PR President
Scott Reynolds became established as one of the most well known and well respected Bucs reporters through many television appearances beginning on Bay News 9 and ABC Action News decades ago to News Channel 8 WFLA most recently. And he further branded himself as a Bucs expert – and Pewter Report as the best source for news and inside scoop on the team – in the late 1990s and early 2000s on WDAE 620 AM with weekly appearances on the Steve Duemig Show and also on Happy Hour with JP Peterson on 98.7 FM.
Reynolds still makes weekly appearances during football season on WDAE 95.3 FM with hosts Tom Krasniqi, Pat Donovan and Aaron Jacobson, in addition to the popular Insiders radio show. And he’s still a regular guest with Peterson on FanStream Sports, in addition to out-of-market appearances to talk Bucs football to further Pewter Report’s reach.
News Channel 8’s Gabrielle Shirley and PewterReport.com’s Scott Reynolds – Photo by Mark Cook/PR
Many familiar with Reynolds know of his weekly coveted column that comes out on Friday’s called “SR’s FAB 5” where his best insight, scoop and inside information has been published for fans to read for over two decades.
What separates Reynolds from the rest is his constant willingness to change and adapt through the ever-progressing sports media business while keeping an eye on the future. When Reynolds started his career 30 years ago, Pewter Report was a magazine, and it was originally called Buccaneer Magazine up until 2002 when the rebranding occurred under former publisher Jeffrey Neil Fox.
Reynolds spearheaded the rebranding and came up with the name Pewter Report because pewter is the unique color of the Bucs franchise, and reporting in providing the best Bucs coverage for the fans. He spent countless hours not only putting together print pages, but writing the stories as well and making sure they were sent out to readers on time.
Scott and Ashley Reynolds with their children Jillian, Ellie, Logan and Caden at Bucs training camp in 2017
Pewter Report magazine ceased publication in 2009 because of the changing nature of the sports media business landscape, and the fact that the PewterReport.com website had become so popular and was able to deliver news on the team much more rapidly than a magazine could. Reynolds continued to evolve and build Pewter Report into a bigger media enterprise each year with PewterReport.com reaching over 1 million unique visitors for the first time in 2020 – a feat that has been achieved every year since.
Pewter Report has also amassed over 110,000 followers on its social media channels, and Reynolds has forged several marketing partnerships with local and national advertising partners.
Here is a statement from Pewter Report’s president Hugh MacArthur commemorating Reynolds on this accomplishment.
“It’s a pleasure and a privilege to congratulate Scott on his 30 years of service at Pewter Report,” MacArthur said. “Having known and worked with Scott for 20 of those years, I have always been impressed by his mastery of and dedication to all things Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and his tireless passion for making Pewter Report a better and more exciting news and entertainment outlet. Onward and upward!”
Scott Reynolds Has Built Pewter Report Into A Bucs Media Enterprise
Scott Reynolds has always been open to new innovative ideas. With the help of former Pewter Reporters like the late great Mark Cook and Trevor Sikkema, he helped create the Pewter Nation Podcast, which eventually became today’s popular Pewter Report Podcast. He’s also played a leading role in the development of Pewter Report’s YouTube channel, PewterReportTV, which hosts the Pewter Report Podcast in video form, as well as Reynolds’ own popular Pewter Pulse video series.
Scott Reynolds and former Pewter Reporters Mark Cook and Trevor Sikkema recording the Pewter Nation Podcast
As fun as it can be to cover the team during the season, nobody covers the Bucs offseason like Reynolds and Pewter Report do, especially when it comes to the NFL Draft. His dedication to finding the best fits for the Buccaneers by studying countless draft prospects and devoting a lot of time to watching film have kept fans informed every time the Bucs are on the clock in April. Reynolds has spent over 20 years going to the Senior Bowl to scout the best draft prospects and bring the best possible draft content to our readers, viewers and listeners – all for the love of the game.
By chance, the NFL Draft comes right around Reynolds’ April 23rd birthday, as draft coverage is his own personal gift to all Bucs fans. Each season, Reynolds comes up with his famous “Bucs Best Bets” where he predicts two players for each position that the Bucs are most likely to draft – one for rounds 1-3, the other for rounds 4-7. Nearly every year, Reynolds gets at least one correct, if not several picks. The difficulty of forecasting that correctly in a pool of hundreds of draft prospects is high, but Reynolds often prevails and his track for predicting Bucs draft picks is bar none.
Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds, Bailey Adams, Adam Slivon, Josh Queipo and Matt Matera in Mobile, Ala. at the Senior Bowl
Perhaps what Reynolds is best known for is his willingness to help up-and-coming reporters. He has mentioned in his SR’s FAB 5 column that he wants to help the younger generation and is open to assisting aspiring reporters if they reach out and has included his [email protected] e-mail address for those that have questions for him or are seeking an opportunity at Pewter Report.
Reynolds has spearheaded the staff of Pewter Report for decades now. He hired long-time writers and contributors Jim Flynn and Cook, who each worked for Pewter Report for a decade. Cook and Reynolds became close friends over the years, and they teamed up for some of the best podcast episodes due to their informative nature – and Cook’s comedic bits with Reynolds and Sikkema, which would bring listeners to tears while laughing.
Reynolds also helped launch the broadcasting careers of ESPN’s Jenna Laine and Walter Football’s Charlie Campbell, as well as Sikkema, who is now the lead NFL and draft analyst at Pro Football Focus. He also hired Jon Ledyard, who was already well established in the draft media community, and the two teamed up to take Pewter Report to new heights during Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl run.
Pewter Report has also had a track record of hiring some great interns, such as Andrew Scavelli, Eric Dellaratta, Zach Shapiro and Taylor Jenkins among others over the years, while former interns Matt Matera (yours truly) and Adam Slivon were hired full-time due to their outstanding work and dedication.
Scott Reynolds, Bucs Hall of Famer Warren Sapp and the late great Mark Cook in London’s Hyde Park in 2019 prior to the Bucs vs. Panthers game
Thank You, Scott
Today’s Pewter Report editorial staff of Matt Matera, Josh Queipo, Bailey Adams and Adam Slivon has experienced a tremendous amount of professional growth under Scott Reynolds’ leadership.
From a personal level, I appreciate how Reynolds has shown me the ropes over the years from the best approach to pursuing stories, to how to research and acquire the best information, formulating the right questions to ask and figuring out the best way to get the most out of a story. He lets the Pewter Reporters write about what we want to write about and encourages us to think of outside-the-box ideas. The development of the PR staff would not be possible without him.
Former Bucs DT Will Gholston and Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds – Photo by Mark Cook/PR
I can’t thank Reynolds enough for his constant positivity and encouragement of myself and others on the staff. I’ve learned so much from him in several ways that I try to apply to my own writing, reporting, podcasting and broadcasting. So much of what I’ve accomplished has been because of him and I’ve been able to see major events in the sporting world that I wouldn’t have believed I could have covered without his help. Reynolds has opened doors for myself and others, and that will always be appreciated.
It’s fitting that Reynolds has said that he has walked into One Buc Place at the same time as Bucs legends Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks back in 1995. Sapp and Brooks went onto become Hall of Famers playing the game of football at the highest level. Reynolds has reached a Hall of Fame level too with his expert coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
On behalf of the entire Pewter Report staff, we’d like to say congratulations, Scott, on 30 years of covering the Bucs! Here’s to many more!