In October, 1852, at age 18, Browne became
commercial and local editor of a nationally
known newspaper, The Cleveland Plain
Dealer, pioneer in "personal journalism".
Browne's enlivening accounts of fires, lawsuits,
arrests, dog fights, swindles, elopments, murders,
helped to increase circulation (and prepared him
for later writing). In December, 1857, Browne
(at age 23) became Associate Editor of The
Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Browne's newspaper career came (said biographer Austin) "at the height of the era of personal journalism. The first successful penny newspaper was printed only two years before his birth. Its success depended on its mass appeal, and this meant a lively style with emphasis upon local news and human interest. It was still possiblle to found a newspaper on a capital of a few thousand dollars or less, and rivalry for the mass audience became keen. The number of newspapers in the United States more than doubled in the period between 1833 and 1860. A city such as Cleveland [where Browne became editor of the Plain Dealer], with a population of twenty or thirty thousand, could boast at one time or another of more than four vigorously competing papers.

"By the time [1857] Browne began to work for the Plain Dealer, national and international news was gathered by telegraph, mostly from the East. The telegraph being costly, news reports were brief and colorless, and it remained for the local editor to fill up the paper with local news, editorial comment, and humor. Nor were these categories always kep separate. It was often difficult for the local editor to find anything to write about, and the Plain Dealer's pages frequently contained such complaints as the following by Browne: 'THE TIMES.--No startling suicides -- no foul and unnatural murders -- no racy elopments -- no anything rare and spicy -- November! Dull times for locals.'

".... Thus the wit and audacity of the editors was responsible for the liveliness of the paper, upon which its circulation depended. It was the day of such newspaper personalities as Horace Greeley and James Girdon Bennett and of the beginning of John Phoenix, Orpheus C. Kerr, Mark Twain, and a host of others."

Ohio journalism was then vigorous and competetive. Cincinnati was now a chief publishing center of the West, supporting many newspapers. Columbus' Crisis was the chief "Copperhead" (Southern-sympathizer, anti-Lincoln newspaper in Ohio; and young Wilam Dean Howells was editor and reporter on the Ohio State Journal. Toledo had the leading Republican newspaper, the Blade. Dozens of smaller dailies and weeklies flourished throughout Ohio.

By 1960, the Plain Dealer had the largest circulation of any Democratic newspaper in the country, but had to compete with the Leader, owned by Joseph Medill, destined to become a newspaper giant and one of the founders of the Republican Party. Charles Browne primarily wrote the daily local column,"City Facts and Fancies".

Austin: "The local column reguarly covered notices of new adverisers; reports of railroad and boat arrivals and departures; reviews of conventions, concerts, lectures; reports of lawsuits, fires, arrests; turf news; United States District Court cases; City Council proceedings; and Board of Education proceedings. Dog fights, swindles, elopments, or murders furnished the most exciting copy; but, when these were lacking, [Browne] had to fill in with jokes, anecdotes, comments on the weather...." Browne performed skillfully and attained a national reputation, as the Plain Dealer became known for its brashly popular style.

Browne had a rich store of anecdotes, which he could adapt for local conditions -- exploiting the hoax, the burlesque, and deadpan satire. Soon Browne became Associate Editor, supporting the Editor, J. W. Gray, who suffered fom an eye injury that eventually led to his death. The value of Browne, in helping to create a style that was to be known for years, is indicated by the fact that 1860 (the year of his tenure) saw a peak in the paper's circulation -- 60,000 subscribers -- which was not again equalled for years.