Asian Boston magazine - Leo Ballou

Asian Boston magazine gets new look after first issue criticized
By Ling Liu/ Associated Press
Monday, August 21, 2006
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=138405

BOSTON -- Driving a sedan filled with cardboard boxes, Leo Ballou is
spending more than two weeks visiting hundreds of video stores, grocery
stores, restaurants and other Asian-owned businesses in New England.

Ballou, the publisher of Asian Boston magazine, has just come out with
15,000 copies of his free glossy's second issue, which looks noticeably
different from the debut in February that was criticized for sexy
photos of Asian woman and his perceived ignorance of the local Asian
community.

"Their faces were lighting up," Ballou said of the reaction to the new
issue. "It's just a great feeling."

Much better, in fact, than how Ballou was feeling this spring. A month
after his first issue hit the stands, The Boston Globe wrote an article
questioning how a white guy from South Boston could pull off a magazine
about Asians. The issue was subsequently disparaged in letters to the
editor and on blogs, where Ballou was accused of objectifying Asian
women and of being an outsider who didn't understand Asian-Americans.

Ballou said the criticism hurt, but denied in a recent interview that
the magazine's new look -- featuring fewer models in less skimpy
outfits -- is a result.

"I walked around one day and said, 'There's no Asian magazine"' in New
England, Ballou recalled. "I'm not saying no one ever thought about it,
but no one ever brought it into fruition. ... It took someone from the
outside to appreciate it."

The first issue of Asian Boston led with a story called "The Essence of
the Far-East Asian Women of New England." The cover shot was of an
Asian model in low-cut blue jeans and a plunging gold, barely there
blouse attached with a single tie across the chest. Inside, 11 pages
were dedicated to color photos of female models in suggestive
Asian-inspired dresses, skirts and tops, with one image featuring a
model lying on her back, sprawled out on a colorful carpet.

The magazine's articles, including one on Chinese medicine and others
on health and beauty, were written in English.

In sharp contrast, the second issue's cover features a young bride in
the arms of her model groom smiling in front of Boston Harbor.

The modeling section has been cut to three pages of both male and
female models, and the sexy outfits have been traded for bridal
fashions designed by Quincy-based designer Phi Du.

Articles appear in Chinese and Vietnamese and focus on local Asian
artists, health, food, immigration, fashion and beauty. The new 40-page
issue also includes a profile of Tieng-Xanh Voice, a Dorchester
organization that works with high-risk youth.

Ballou defended the premiere's modeling spread, saying it was a way of
jump-starting careers and promoting the modeling and casting agency he
runs with the magazine. He recruits Asian models, mostly women, through
online postings, on the street, at parties, in grocery stores and
casinos.

Giles Li, founder of the Asian Boston Progress Arts Collective, said
the first issue was "an insult to the community" in a letter to the
Globe. He was surprised to hear that Asian Boston was still running.

It's looking to appeal to a pretty different demographic, which is
nice," said Li.

Anh Nguyen, a development associate at the Asian American Civic
Association in Boston, had told the Globe that Ballou was promoting
Asian women as "submissive sex objects." She called the second issue a
"drastic improvement," but was still concerned about Ballou's
intentions.

"He's packaging Asians to make money," she said. "He's an outsider
looking at the Asian race."

Ballou, who wouldn't say his age, has never been to Asia or
formally studied Asian culture or history. Born and raised in Boston's
mostly Irish "Southie" neighborhood, he met Asian friends and a
Vietnamese girlfriend while studying to be a paralegal. After being
laid off from a job where he sold wireless and broadcast tower space,
he was inspired by financial guru Robert Kiyosaki, a fourth generation
Japanese-American raised in Hawaii, to start his own business.

Ballou said he's fascinated by Asian culture and his ethnicity
shouldn't be a factor.

"The Asian culture just grabbed me -- the art, entertainment, food,
everything about it," he said. "There's a mystique about it that I
can't figure out, that I don't want to figure out because I always want
it to be there."

Melissa Hung, editor-in-chief of the San Francisco-based Asian
American magazine Hyphen, said she doesn't understand the idea of a
non-Asian creating such a magazine.

"If you want to cover something, you need to be an expert at it,"
she said.

But Jeff Yang, a consultant on Asian-American consumer culture and
founder of the now defunct aMagazine, one of the most successful
Asian-American publications in history, said Ballou's background isn't
the problem.

"The task is whether or not he really understands the market,
whether or not the publication really fills a public need or service,"
he said.

Yang was also concerned that Ballou's mentality puts
Asian-Americans in a permanent state of foreignness.

"We Asian-Americans don't think of ourselves as particularly
mysterious," he said.

Last Tuesday, Ballou, who can say hello in several Asian languages,
peddled his product at dozens of locations in Boston's Dorchester
neighborhood. Volunteer writers and models helped him distribute
magazines and build rapport with potential advertisers.

"I've seen a lot of other magazines focusing on other ethnicities,"
said Minik Chauigyn, 20, who's a cover model for the second issue. "I
always wondered why there are no Asian magazines."

Ballou has spent more than $20,000 of savings to design and print
the first two issues. A third is planned for fall. Eventually, Ballou
wants to create similar magazines in other cities.

"I hope in the future people will know what Asian Boston is and
associate it with honor and integrity," he said.

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