“Your state. Your news. Your voice.” That’s not just The Nevada Independent’s motto, it’s a statement of our core commitment to journalism that serves all of Nevada.

Today we deepen that commitment with the launch of Indy Voices. Indy Voices is a forum for diverse perspectives from across Nevada. It includes guest commentaries, reader viewpoints and pieces from our opinion columnists.

Some recent Indy Voices highlights:

• Doug Goodman on reforming the Legislature: “Special sessions are often chaotic, inefficient and opaque.”
• Stephanie Forté on the Vegas Golden Knights signing Carter Hart: “It sends a troubling message to sexual assault survivors like me.”
• Jason Guinasso on legal marijuana in Nevada: “From unstable education funding to public safety concerns, recreational cannabis has failed us.”

We’re excited to have Opinion Editor Andrew Kiraly, Las Vegas native and longtime Southern Nevada journalist, overseeing Indy Voices.

We asked him a few questions about his editorial philosophy, his working methods and how a “skate rat” becomes an editor.

What is your vision for Indy Voices?
At the risk of sounding grandiose, I want to not only reflect the diversity of Nevada in all its richness and complexity, but also expand the possibilities of the traditional so-called opinion column.

For instance, I love it when writers hit me with pieces that consider issues from the angle of a personal essay or with a tonic dose of writerly flair. Beyond that, I’d love to see Indy Voices evolve into a bustling nexus of community conversations.

What’s your favorite part of being opinion editor at The Indy?
I live my ultimate nerdy dream of getting paid to think and talk about and hopefully inspire great writing. I also get to immerse myself in wildly different points of view and become an “instant expert” in a range of topics. Great for small talk at parties!

Can you give folks a peek behind the curtain of what the editing process looks like?
Upon acceptance of a piece, I work with the writer through several drafts via Google docs. We start with the big stuff such as developing ideas and working on structure, then we work through citing sources, fact-checking and finessing language.

Editing is so much more than correcting typos! At its best, it’s a deeply collaborative conversation and one-on-one writing workshop.

What makes for a good opinion column?
A really good opinion column is a magical convergence of a bunch of things — expertise and authority married to a set of meaningful values, a pulse of moral urgency and a sense of real stakes. But that’s not to say there’s a set formula. The best ones make that magic with an additional dose of style, verve, wit or original voice.

What was the earliest sign you’d one day be a journalist?
I caught the bug young. In my teen years as an eastside suburban skate rat, I turned my dad’s garage into an ad hoc publishing house where me and my friends would churn out skate and punk ’zines by the ream. I remember the look on his face upon seeing we’d rigged his sawhorses into a saddle-stitch device!

Learn more about how to submit to Indy Voices here.