Today we’d like to introduce you to Doug Turnbull
Hi Doug, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My day job is as a podcast host for financial marketing firm Impact Partnership in Marietta/Kennesaw. I have 20 advisors that I do monthly podcast recordings with and also help coach them up to eventually move into weekly radio shows.
This gig came on the heels of my 20-year traffic reporting career at WSB Radio in Atlanta. On May 25, 2004, three days after graduating from Lakeside High, I met WSB lead traffic reporter Captain Herb Emory. He gave me a tour of the station, invited me to intern, printed me a badge, and took me up in the WSB Skycopter that day!
I interned for seven months, got hired part-time in December, and worked as the morning drive traffic producer and a reporter for nine years. After Emory’s passing, I became manager of the Traffic Team and flew in the Skycopter in PM drive. I also covered NASCAR for the station and filled in hosting special shows, from time to time.
Working there was a tremendous honor, as I got to work with incredible professionals and lifelong friends.
During my time there, I got to start writing the weekly “Gridlock Guy” traffic column in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and have continued that since my departure from WSB. I love getting a chance to explore traffic stories and editorialize on one of the most important and relatable issues in Atlanta.
Emory’s love for NASCAR led me right onto his weekly racing show and eventually on the media side of the sport. So, another of my side gigs is now doing either turn-announcing or pit road-reporting for the Performance Racing Network for several NASCAR race weekends per year. The live, energetic broadcasts are very similar to reporting traffic on WSB.
As WSB’s parent company changed, along with the economy in radio, I moved on from there, my only full-time job ever, and am thriving in a new and different environment, while using the same skills that were the bedrock of my career.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
For almost all of my career, things have happened for me quickly. Starting literally at the top – on morning drive on WSB Radio – is a far easier haul than most people have in broadcast media. That happened by the hand of God, not by any raw talent. My work ethic is what kept me there. The talent only came after osmosis of some of the best people in the country at the job.
But even in easy moments, bumps in the road happen. I had to wait four years for my job to become full-time. And I had to wait several years after that for the money to become sustainable. I had side gigs DJing trivia (I still do), working promotions, and even working a side traffic-reporting job to make ends meet.
When Captain Herb Emory passed away in 2014, we all had tremendous grief. He was like a father to me. But his gusto and charitable heart inspired us to do some big things and carry the torch.
Becoming manager of the WSB Traffic Team was a huge honor that I took very seriously. But any people manager will tell you that it is tremendously challenging and I definitely let that eat me up sometimes.
We were a 24/7/365 service and staffing it became increasingly difficult, especially after the purse strings tightened during private equity ownership late in my tenure there. That really made the job off of the air very difficult.
And when that job finally got downsized, I faced the first real crossroads of my career. While extremely challenging, it tested my character and opened the door for a new beginning and a reset that I desperately needed.
So I am glad for the challenges I had and will have later, because those allow God to work and allow me to grow.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My two decades of experience in live radio prepared me to think on my toes and so did hosting live trivia shows. Those built me up to merge right in to NASCAR play-by-play and then begin co-hosting my own “Five to Go Podcast” about racing.
So being hired to co-host podcasts for 20 advisors and coach them on how to both do the shows and promote them better draws on my previous experiences. Much like trivia hosting, I don’t have to know the financial answers. I just need to tee up the questions and content for the advisors to answer and expand upon them.
I am really proud of my past career in traffic reporting on the radio – the longevity and the success. I am proud of getting tapped to lead a team and help develop a traffic app, too. I am honored to still write for the AJC and to parlay all of this into NASCAR. And I take pride in how this all added up to where I am now at Impact Partnership.
Outside of broadcasting and writing, something that sets me apart is positivity. I believe very much in culture and am thriving in a place now where that is appreciated.
What makes you happy?
Making a difference makes me happy. That could be something small at work or it could be the volunteering with both high school boys and adult men in two different Bible studies I help lead at Decatur City Church.
God puts us here to pay our blessings forward and bring His goodness to others. When I get to do that, I am happy.
One way that goodness happens to me is in my marriage. My wife, Momo, is incredible. She builds me up and helps me see parts of myself that I do not.
My wife, our dog, our four cats, our family, and our friend group are all priceless to me.
And my new work family at Impact Partnership brings a ton of happiness.
I have a multitude of things to smile about and thank God for every day.
Contact Info:
- Website: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/fireballturnbull
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fireballturnbull/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FireballTurnbull/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-turnbull-71995930a/
- Twitter: https://x.com/dougturnbull
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@dougturnbull8659?si=tdnUffYagrNG5nQx
- Other: https://www.ajc.com/staff/doug-turnbull/
