Patch, the AOL-owned local news organization which recently launched in Portsmouth, announced today that they had rolled out their 100th site, with plans to expand to 500 sites in 20 states by year end.

According to a statement sent to media outlets, "With over 500 journalists still to be hired, Patch expects to be the largest hirer of full-time journalists in the U.S. this year."

Go back and read that graf again.

If I'm running a dinosaur dead-tree newspaper (*cough* Newport Daily News *cough*), I'm cowering in the tornado shelter and praying that the iPad and Android will magically rescue me. Me, I'm not betting on that. The future of news is online, open, and social. I like Patch, and I'm a big fan of the Washington, DC news cross-media play TBD.com which goes a step further, explicitly acknowledging local bloggers as part of the news ecosystem. I couldn't agree more with statement from one of the Patch advisory board:

“All news is essentially local, and the pace at which Patch has grown shows that the demand for meaningful community news and information is alive and well,” said Phil Meyer, Professor Emeritus in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a member of the Patch Editorial Advisory Board. “Patch’s strength lies in the hyper-relevant nature of the information it provides to users in the communities and the robustness of its journalism. Patch has made a demonstrable leap toward filling a distinct gap in news and information at the hyper-local level.”

More about Patch:

Every Patch site is run by one professional local editor who, along with freelancers, provides quality original news and information to its community. As part of its expansion, Patch continues to hire experienced professional journalists to fill important new roles in the organization.

In addition to being a destination for original content produced by professional journalists, Patch is a platform for community members to comment on stories, share their opinions, post photos and announcements, and add events to the community calendar.

Patch sites are already up and running in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia. The 2010 expansion includes plans to extend Patch’s reach into more than a dozen new states including Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin.— via press release

Visit Portsmouth.Patch.com

Editorial note: Written substantially from a press release.