A big lesson we always discuss in media training sessions is that when words pass your lips, you own them. Whether they were suggested to you or not is irrelevant. The Globe and Mail’s very talented science writer Anne McIlroy had a story this week that asked Canada’s Minister of State for Science and Technology Gary Goodyear if he believed in evolution. “I’m not going to answer that question. I am a Christian, and I don’t think anybody asking a question about my religion is appropriate,” Goodyear replied. But by doing so, the Minister helped make the story about his religious beliefs. It was too bad really, because Goodyear also delivered great key messages about commercializing research in order to save lives, improve the environment and elevate our lifestyle. But it got drowned out by the controversy. Sadly, he also added to the Globe: “I do believe that just because you can’t see it under a microscope doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. It could mean we don’t have a powerful enough microscope yet. So I’m not fussy on this business that we already know everything.” The story then spread across the mainstream media, or as the Toronto Sun put it, “the primordial ooze hit the fan.” Said the National Post: Mr. Goodyear embraces the Bible’s literal translation of the Earth as a six-day infrastructure project for the Almighty. Scientists attacked the government for cutting research funding and demanded to know whether the message was it would be cheaper if we just read the Bible. Mr. Goodyear is a smart man and may well turn out to be an excellent Minister, but folks, when you say it, you own it.
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