Reparing tears in Drywall before painting
#1

I recently moved into a new apartment and the prior resident had glued tackboard panels onto the wall. I went to remove them and found the glue had soaked into the drywall paper covering, although not all the way to the plaster itself.
The result: large ( max 2" wide, but quite long ) tears in the outer paper.
?: How do I repair the tears in preperation for repainting without having to replace a 4x8 ft section of drywall?