• by Ray Schultz , Yesterday

The Indianapolis Star, in a reverse of what some newspapers are doing, has doubled the size of its opinion section from two pages to four in an effort to provide more columns and letters. 

But the goal is not to make room for national pundits, but to deliver more local opinion content. 

“The larger section in the Sunday paper is a culmination of several months of work to expand the amount of local opinion content for our community,” writes Ryan Martin, executive editor of the Star. “Opinion Editor James Briggs has been spearheading that effort since returning to IndyStar last year.”

Martin adds: “All told, this expanded section will enable us to more easily provide you with a diverse set of voices on a greater variety of issues," writes Ryan Martin, executive editor of the Star.

The larger section features columns from Briggs and fellow staff columnists Jacob Stewart and Sadia Khatri. In addition, there are columns from economist Michael Hicks, along with Jay Chaudhary, former director of the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction.

And of course, politicians are weighing in — for example, state Rep. Mitch Gore (D) and former U.S. Rep. Greg Pence (R) have written articles.