Bill Lichtenstein - Dr. Fred Goodwin and The Infinite Mind

Dr. Fred Goodwin and The Infinite Mind

On May 9, 2008, Slate published a negative article about a program of "The Infinite Mind" in which psychiatric medications for depression were discussed, and where all the participants of the program, including Dr. Goodwin himself, had financial ties to pharmaceutical companies who produce depression medications. This conflict of interest was not disclosed by the producers of the show, Dr. Goodwin, or any of the people appearing on the show. This article led to the later New York Times report about the incident. Lichtenstein acknowledged the lack of disclosure that the experts on the show had each at one point worked on pharmaceutical company funded research.

On November 21, 2008, the New York Times reported that the host of "The Infinite Mind," Dr. Fred Goodwin, had received "at least $1.3 million from 2000 to 2007 giving marketing lectures for drugmakers, income not mentioned on the program." Goodwin also asserted that Lichtenstein was aware of this income, an allegation disputed by Lichtenstein.

However, a week after the New York Times article, the National Public Radio series, "On the Media," ran a story that an anonymous source had corroborated Goodwin's claim that Lichtenstein was aware of his income from drug makers. Three months later, on March 12, 2008, "On the Media" issued a correction to the story, in which they apologized for not contacting Lichtenstein prior to broadcast.:

"A lapse of journalistic judgment . . . that was a mistake." said NPR On The Media's Brooke Gladstone. "It wasn't fair and it didn't serve our listeners, so this week we did. Lichtenstein told us that he also spoke to that anonymous source, who said that she had no first-hand evidence that he knew of any fees. He emphasized that, in fact, he was not aware of Goodwin’s financial ties to drug companies and that The Infinite Mind had always adhered to standard journalism practice in vetting guests and disclosing conflicts of interest."