Ken Ulman, David and Karen Nitkin buy stake in Baltimore Fishbowl

Former Howard County Executive Ken Ulman, former Baltimore Sun editor David Nitkin and writer Karen Nitkin have bought a stake in Baltimore Fishbowl.

Through a new partnership, Bowled Over Investments, LLC, Ulman and the Nitkins are hoping to use their expertise to grow the digital news site, founded in 2011 by Susan Gerardo Dunn as an alternative online-only source of daily journalism, essays and features.

Following one term on the Howard County Council beginning in 2002, two terms as Howard County executive in 2006 and 2010 and a bid for lieutenant governor in 2014, Ulman started Margrave Strategies, a consulting firm specializing in economic development and planning.

The company has worked on developing a plan for College Park, home to the University of Maryland, to bring “dynamic academic spaces, enhancing the Baltimore Ave. corridor, and creating a robust public-private research enterprise,” per the company’s website.

David Nitkin, a longtime editor at The Sun who served as White House correspondent, State House bureau chief, political editor and metropolitan editor, now serves as chief of staff at Howard County General Hospital.

Both hope to, through their investment, grow the site’s coverage and presence in the region.

“I look forward to connecting Fishbowl’s readers with the thought and business leaders throughout the region,” Ulman said in a statement. “I’ve been a longtime admirer of their work, and know we have a bright future.”

Under the new arrangement, David Nitkin will serve as editorial director of Baltimore Fishbowl, and Karen, a food and travel writer whose work has been published in The Washington Post, Baltimore Sun and Baltimore magazine, will become a regular contributor.

In a statement, Dunn said she is excited to see the site grow as many media entities are forced to make cuts in the face of declining ad revenues.

“I’m thrilled to be partnering with such a dynamic team. After nearly eight years of steady growth, it is time to bolster Baltimore Fishbowl with new energy,” she said. “At a time of so much media retrenchment, I am proud that Baltimore Fishbowl has attracted new investors and excited about what lies ahead.”