Patch, an arm of AOL, is setting up a group of hyperlocal Web sites. Here’s an announcement Patch is circulating:

How would you like to run your own local news operation — a robust, relevant site that makes a real difference in people’s lives? With Patch, you can make it happen. We’re radically reinventing community journalism and looking for passionate people to help us bring the spirit of hometown news to the internet. 

We’re currently seeking smart, innovative journalists to join our team as full-time online editors. When you join us, you’ll run your own news site, with control over all that goes into it — and with a network of colleagues and innovative technology to support you. As a Patch local editor, you’ll be helping to build your community by providing the hyper-local news and information that makes your town unique. 

Patch welcomes journalists from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, including those just starting their careers. If you’re interested in taking a lead role in defining the future of online journalism, learn more and apply at Patch.com/jobs. Patch is an equal opportunity employer.

Here’s a list of cities where Patch needs journalists.

Ken Doctor, former Knight Ridder digital chief who is now a news industry analyst for Outsell, says:

AOL’s Patch is ambitiously adding websites, lately going after MediaNews territory in the East Bay of the Bay Area — San Ramon, Danville, Walnut Creek and Pleasanton — and penetrating SoCal, from Fairfax and West Hollywood to Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach. Hundreds of local reporters are being hired as hundreds of new sites are being replicated from California to Illinois to Maryland to Rhode Island, joining the early sites in Connecticut and New Jersey. 

 On Thursday, San Ramon saw a big breaking news story, of a 24-year-old menacing police outside a 7-11. They shot and killed him, after a standoff. Take a look at the coverage and you can see that the Contra Costa Times’ story has more depth, background and nuance. Patch’s story is straightforward, but lacking in those same qualities. That quick comparison may be typical for how a newspaper responds to the big, breaking story — one of unusual suburban daily drama — as compared to AOL’s user-gen start-up.