How should we deal with mavericks? These are the self-appointed experts who say, for instance, that smoking is not a health risk, or who deny Global Warming.
They are called ‘contrarians’, and how we reporters love them! After all, the best news is the unexpected: "Man bites dog’ rather than ‘Dog bites man.’
Some scientists (and journalists) make a career out of contrariness and conspiracy theory (‘Moon landings were a hoax’) and win public exposure that is out of all proportion when the relative weight of research and evidence is put on the scales.
Yet we can’t ignore contrarians. The answer is to balance our reports by including the orthodox view, preferably high up. If a maverick scientist insists that the earth is flat, or that smoking is good for you, get comment from a better known orthodox scientist to put the story in context. Try to be fair – but above all, responsible.
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