Time Magazine got it “sloppily wrong” again with its recent online follow up to its much maligned 1987 Asian American Whiz Kids cover story, according to a blog by Julianne Hing in Colorlines.
The original story has been often cited as exhibit A for those who argue the news media is responsible for the Asian American model minority stereotype.
In the Time follow up, Jack Linshi sets out to explain why Asian Americans are under represented in leadership positions in tech companies despite their strong presence in the rank and file. Linshi goes back and interviews some of the same people featured in the original article. Hing argues by so doing , Linshi fails to show a strong connection between the model minority stereotype and the bamboo or glass ceiling.
“Linshi’s first mistake was in looking to a reviled 27-year-old story as a reporting map and going no further than those sources,” writes Hing. Hing would have liked to see Linshi interview Asian Americans who have been denied promotions because of the bamboo ceiling.
She also accuses Linshi of buying into the model minority stereotype. Writes Hing: ” Linshi explains the model minority stereotype capably but ends up buying into it, frowning that, in his mind, Asians are not yet seeing the dividends of “Asian success.”
Read Hing’s rather detailed blog in Colorlines and let us know what you think. Do you agree with Hing or do you think Linshi did a good job with his follow up?