Bay Windows, Boston’s longest-running gay and lesbian weekly, recently announced that it’s hired a new editor to replace Jeff Epperly, who left the paper in September after a 16-year tenure. Andrew Rapp, 28, former editor of North Carolina gay and lesbian biweekly the Front Page, stepped into the job last week. For the last two months, Rapp, a graduate of Stanford University who now lives in Medford with his partner, has been serving as an editorial consultant for Bay Windows' publisher Jim Hoover and associate publisher Sue O’Connell. The Phoenix recently spoke with Rapp.

Q: What are your impressions of Boston’s gay community so far? Do you have any favorite places?

A: I’ve been surprised by the community here, which I guess reflects New England values in general. In San Francisco and Washington, DC — two places I’ve lived — the gay community had a high visibility within the larger city that I don’t see here. Yet, there are really visible and established institutions, like the Fenway Community Health Center, which is an amazing resource. My experience in the gay community has been limited since I moved here. My partner used to work in the South End, and I was jealous that he got to have lunch and hang out. I was working in Andover [before the Bay Windows job] and spent very little time in the South End. So I’m looking forward to that now that I’m at Bay Windows.

Q: What are some of the challenges in making the gay press relevant to readers who can get their news from the mainstream press, or online?

A: Since I’ve been working in the gay press, major issues including gays in the military, Ellen’s coming-out, and the marriage debate were all covered more and more by the mass media. So it is a challenge to keep content fresh. My vision for the gay press in general and for Bay Windows in particular is to be professional. By having a savvy staff that brings creativity and integrity to the work, the quality will follow. I don’t want to work backwards; I want to trust the staff to come to the table with fresh ideas because they are invested in the community.

Q: What immediate and longer-range changes do you plan for Bay Windows?

A: The paper is due for significant changes. First, I plan a redesign. The current format is a bit stale. I haven’t yet sat down with the layout editor, so I don’t have particulars. From an editorial standpoint, the big push in the short term is to make better use of the reporting resources that we have.

Q: Will readers see an increase in local coverage of news as opposed to material from wire services? What will your priorities be in terms of coverage?

A: My general bias is to local news. But I recognize that for a lot of readers, the gay press might be their only source for important information, so there must be some national coverage. I think I’ll make better use of AP and wire news when it’s necessary, but also using it with the goal of freeing up our reporters to do local work. In a weekly, the challenge is to get folks to think longer term, to think about stories for weeks, even months ahead and not just weekly. I’m really pleased with a series that [Bay Windows’ associate editor] Laura Kiritsy has been doing about LGBT youth. She also did very extensive election coverage for us, including interviews with all the gubernatorial candidates including Mitt Romney. We also published a staff endorsement. It was thorough coverage.

Q: Which publications do you read, gay or mainstream?

A: The Washington Blade, which has been dynamite for a number of years. The Windy City Times, which does excellent local coverage. As far as the national gay press, I still read Out and the Advocate, which is struggling to find its purpose. I used the Christian Science Monitor as a model when I was at the Front Page. Like the gay press, it has a widely dispersed audience, but it combines high editorial content with diverse interests, while still focused on key issues like government.

Q: Your predecessor was editor at Bay Windows for 16 years. Any thoughts about following such a tenure?

A: I don’t like when a publication is identified with a single person. I told the management when I was hired that I wanted a staff-run newspaper. I believe in hiring a diverse staff that is in touch with the issues and understands the readership. Then let [the staff] do its job. North Carolina was a very different audience than Boston, so for the next six months or so I will be feeling out the community here.