Marcus Dieterle

I led Baltimore Fishbowl twice to win Best of Show awards for “General Website Excellence” from the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association (first in 2022 and again in 2025), with our website outperforming MDDC member organizations throughout the region.

“Pimlico Cake: A beloved Preakness tradition endures decades after restaurant closure“: The Pimlico Hotel closed in 1991 but its iconic dessert, the Pimlico Cake, lives on as a Preakness classic and timeless Baltimore favorite. I wrote about the tasty treat ahead of the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes horse race in 2025. This Baltimore Fishbowl article won second place in Division C for Feature Story: Non-Profile at the 2025 MDDC Awards.

“Months after Trump administration’s anti-DEI orders, Baltimore Center Stage continues to reject federal funding“: After the Trump administration called on arts organizations to cease programs promoting “diversity, equity, and inclusion” and “gender ideology,” Baltimore Center Stage made the decision to reject federal funding and instead turn to its community for support. This Baltimore Fishbowl article won second place in Arts/Entertainment Reporting at the 2025 MDDC Awards.

“Home for the Holidays: A crash course in Baltimore City homebuying“: In this column, I shared my husband’s and my journey to becoming first-time Baltimore homeowners and what we learned after two years of looking. This Baltimore Fishbowl column won first place in Division C for Local Column: Critical Thinking at the 2024 MDDC Awards.

“Howard County residents raise concerns about chemical company’s plans for pilot plastics recycling plant“: Howard County residents worried a chemical company’s proposed pilot plastics recycling plant in Columbia could harm their health and the environment. The company, W.R. Grace, maintained that community members misunderstood their plans. This Baltimore Fishbowl story won second place in Division C for Environmental Reporting at the 2024 MDDC Awards.

“‘One for the books’: Black queer Baltimoreans share love of ballroom at Enoch Pratt Central Library”: Black queer community members strutted, dipped, twirled and posed in Baltimore’s Renaissance Ball at the Enoch Pratt Free Library. This Baltimore Fishbowl story won first place in Division C for Arts/Entertainment Reporting at the 2023 MDDC Awards.

“With the new academic year underway, how are Baltimore schools and families coping with food inflation?” — In Baltimore, school cafeterias are still dealing with higher-than-normal food costs spurred by inflation during the pandemic. This Baltimore Fishbowl story won second place in Division C for Education Reporting at the 2023 MDDC Awards.

“Name a roach or rat after your ex and watch it get devoured by Baltimore rescue animals” — The Baltimore Critter Society invited supports to name a roach, worm, mouse, or rat after an ex-lover and have it fed to rescue animals for Valentine’s Day. This Baltimore Fishbowl story won second place in Division C for Feature Story: Non-Profile at the 2023 MDDC Awards.

“Untangling knots and building bonds: Our Lady Undoer of Knots church welcomes LGBTQ+ people, other disaffected Catholics” — Left out of the Catholic church, parishioners at Our Lady Undoer of Knots sought to redefine what it means to be a devout Catholic and create an inclusive space where LGBTQ+ people, divorcees and others are welcome. This Baltimore Fishbowl story won first place in Division O for Religion Reporting at the 2022 MDDC Awards.

“Energy supplier choice aimed to lower Marylanders’ bills, but some customers are left feeling powerless” — More than 20 years after Maryland opened its energy marketplace to competition, many consumers have complaints about the cost of their energy bills and the marketing tactics of some third-party suppliers. This Baltimore Fishbowl story won first place in Division O for Public Service at the 2021 MDDC Awards.

“Baltimore Gamer Symphony Orchestra to perform concert featuring music from video games made in Maryland” — Reuniting to perform together in person again for the first time during the pandemic, the Baltimore Gamer Symphony Orchestra & Concert presented their Made in Maryland concert, featuring music from video games developed in the Old Line State. This Baltimore Fishbowl story won first place in Division O for Arts/Entertainment Reporting at the 2021 MDDC Awards.

“Clavel chef Carlos Raba founds Guardian Baltimore jiu-jitsu studio with free kids classes” — A local chef opened a Brazilian jiu-jitsu and yoga studio in Baltimore’s Remington neighborhood, which provides free classes to kids. This Baltimore Fishbowl story won second place in Division O for Feature Story (Profile) at the 2020 MDDC Awards.

“‘They feel like sitting ducks.’ Coalition calls for state to reduce number of inmates amid pandemic” — The ACLU of Maryland and the Office of the Public Defender petitioned the Maryland Court of Appeals to direct state officials to reduce the number of people in Maryland’s jails and prisons and improve conditions for the inmates who remain to limit the spread of COVID-19. This Baltimore Fishbowl story won first place in Division O for General News Story at the 2020 MDDC Awards.

“The Palette & The Page set to celebrate 10th birthday” — The Palette & The Page started as an artist cooperative in downtown Elkton in Nov. 9, 2009, and later became an LLC. The art gallery and bookstore recently celebrated 10 years of being in business. I sat down with the three women who own the shop at 120 East Main St. to have them reflect on the past decade. (I had previewed 15 of the gallery’s monthly art shows at the time of them celebrating this milestone, so this story holds a special place in my heart.) This Cecil Whig story won first place in Division C for Arts and Entertainment Reporting at the 2019 MDDC Awards.