One of the best new policy blogs around is The Midwesterner: Blogging the Global Midwest, written by Richard C. Longworth. The writer is a former Chicago Tribune and United Press International reporter who now labors as a senior fellow for the The Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
Along the way, Mr. Longworth wrote Caught in the Middle: America's Heartland in the Age of Globalism. That's his picture, off to the right.
Mr. Longworth's blog, which was introduced in late 2009, fills a crying need for thoughtful analysis that integrates the entire Midwest across state lines. His writing is careful and full, bringing the mind of a think tank to consideration of new ideas and the eye of a journalist to detail and story. Most of all, it's interesting. Mr. Longworth has a lot to say, and he's good at saying it.
I also like his listing of other Midwest blogs. For example, by browsing his list, I found For the Love of Dayton, which chronicles civic affairs in the city where my son attends college.
The Midwesterner is the sort of blog that should be attained by a senior individual who seeks to influence the opinions of thought leaders. It takes work, but it pays off. It's a blog written by and for people who simply love ideas that can move societies.
From a technical standpoint, the blog uses TypePad, my preferred blogging platform. I have just one quarrel with The Midwesterner. If that's its name, why is the URL something else, namely:
http://globalmidwest.typepad.com/
I'd recommend that the Chicago Council on Global Affairs purchase a domain for The Midwesterner and map the domain to the blog. This would be a first-class move to serve what is already a first-class blog.
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