At a Glance

Cox Media Group’s WSB (750 AM) and WSBB (95.5 FM), known as “The Voice of the South” since 1922, serve a massive 20-county metro area with a fast news cycle and limited staff. As the flagship station for the Georgia Bulldogs and a primary source for Atlanta’s intense traffic and news coverage, WSB-AM/WSBB cannot afford blind spots. By orchestrating TopicPulse as an “ambient” alert system, the newsroom now spots stories first, widening coverage while protecting staff time.

The 20-County News Coverage Challenge

WSB-AM/WSBB is a Class A station with 50,000 watts on AM and 100,000 watts on FM, giving it a massive 20-county broadcast footprint. This geography creates a significant “Discovery Problem” for a lean newsroom:

• Localized Blind Spots: Focused reporting in Fulton and DeKalb often meant missing breaking news in outlying counties like Coweta or Henry.
• The “Small Source” Problem: Many smaller counties lack robust websites; reporters often post to Facebook or Instagram before a press release is ever written.
• Lean Operations: Ken Charles, Director of Branding and Programming, runs a tight operation. “I don’t have the bodies… those days are over when we have people in those markets and those counties,” Charles says.

The team needed a way to expand its reach. The question was how to do it without overworking the staff or missing deadlines.

The Solution: How TopicPulse reshaped WSB-AM/WSBB’s daily news workflow

Working with Futuri’s Partner Success team, the newsroom configured TopicPulse to amplify their existing staff across the 20-county footprint.

Custom TopicPulse views for every county: WSB-AM/WSBB configured TopicPulse with individual county views. Instead of one noisy, blended stream, staff viewed focused feeds tied to specific coverage areas. Each county became its own lens on the market. This let producers and anchors zero in on what mattered in each county, fast.

Using the “Most Recent” view to spot local stories first: The newsroom leaned into TopicPulse’s “Most Recent” view. Instead of waiting for a story to trend, the team saw it as soon as TopicPulse ingested it, shifting TopicPulse from a research tool into an alert system. Producers don’t have to spend time searching for stories. The stories come to them fast and first, allowing them to use their own instincts and perspectives in breaking news.

TopicPulse on every screen in the newsroom: TopicPulse is now part of their physical newsroom. Multiple screens in the WSB-AM/WSBB newsroom display seven or eight county views simultaneously. New items appear in real time while staff write, edit, or prep for air. That ambient awareness helps the team move quickly on both big breaking events and smaller, high-impact local stories.

Results: Faster Scoops, Wider Coverage, Stronger ROI

The impact of TopicPulse is measured in competitive wins and saved hours.

Beating competitors to local stories with TopicPulse

“We’ve been using it for news out of Coweta County, and Henry County… way before anybody else grabs it. There have been a number of cases… we found really good stories before our TV partner, before the AJC and others because of TopicPulse.”

By treating TopicPulse as a real-time discovery tool, WSB-AM/WSBB moved from reacting to leading. The station now reaches stories from smaller counties ahead of TV, print, and digital competitors.

More stories and expanded reach from every county across the coverage area

TopicPulse opened access to counties that previously received sporadic attention. Even on slower days, staff fill newscasts with more B-level and C-level stories that still matter to local listeners. The result is a fuller, more complete picture of life across the metro, not only in the core urban counties. Listeners across the 20-county footprint hear news that actually affects them, not just headlines from downtown Atlanta.

Less monitoring time, more reporting time

TopicPulse handles the repetitive groundwork that used to eat up your newsroom’s day. It replaces the “manual grind” of juggling browser tabs and refreshing local sites just to see if something is happening, so your team can focus on the human work of telling the story.

As Charles explains, “What it’s doing for us is a lot of the groundwork and making it way easier to do.” The team now spends more time deciding how to tell the story and less time trying to find it.

Strong ROI

“The return on the investment has, in my opinion, paid for what we do annually for TopicPulse.”

The value shows up in coverage gains, time savings, and competitive wins. It’s hard to quantify being first to a story, but newsrooms understand what that means for audience growth and advertiser confidence.

TopicPulse adoption across the entire station

Usage reports show TopicPulse spreading beyond the newsroom. Talk show hosts keep it open during broadcasts. Producers check it between segments. What started as a news tool became a station-wide resource. When people see others breaking stories with TopicPulse, they want in. That organic adoption beats any top-down mandate.

User Perspective

“TopicPulse has become my boots on the ground in parts of the metro I can’t cover, and it’s done a great job covering up for us.” — Ken Charles, Director of Branding and Programming

How one TopicPulse win turns into daily use in the newsroom

Charles describes how just one win creates momentum: “Once somebody in a newsroom gets a story… ‘Now, I’m going to use it every day.’ And then before you know it, they’re getting two, three, four stories a week and they’re in.”

That cycle repeats across the building. An anchor finds a breaking story. A producer beats the competition to a county commission meeting. Each success recruits another user.

Using TopicPulse as a thought partner for angles, headlines, and alerts

The team treats TopicPulse’s AI features as a thinking partner, not a shortcut. They do not lift AI-generated content word-for-word. Instead, they use AI output to:

• Test different angles on a developing story.
• Shape working headlines and push alerts.
• Spark ideas for follow-ups and explainers.

In Charles’ words, TopicPulse serves as “a really good resource” and a set of “thought starters” that help talent and producers move faster when news breaks.

Why TopicPulse fits

Tailored views for complex markets

For WSB-AM/WSBB, customization is non-negotiable.

“I do think that’s one of the things that separates TopicPulse from other resources like it,” Charles says. “Its customization… has been crucial for us. If you tried to put all of the things for 20 counties into one funnel, we’d miss a million really good stories.”

By building county-level views aligned to the station’s footprint, TopicPulse gives the team a targeted look at the market instead of a generic national feed.

Smart discovery from smaller sources

TopicPulse surfaces stories from small sources that larger aggregation tools miss. The algorithm ingests this content early, often before traditional news outlets pick it up. In outlying counties, that early visibility is the difference between breaking a story and following the pack.

 Same team, more covered

“At a time when everybody is asked to do more with less… a resource like TopicPulse allows you to do more with less because it’s doing the work of some of those people that you already have lost.”

Charles views TopicPulse as an extension of the staff. This tool extends their reach, watches the market, and flags opportunities. A three-person newsroom can monitor 20 counties the way a ten-person team once did.

What’s Next

WSB-AM/WSBB plans to expand its use of TopicPulse features in 2026. The digital team wants to use the platform for:

• Push alerts that reflect what audiences care about in real time. 
• Headlines that align with actual search and social behavior. 
• Social posts tied to stories already showing traction.

The Final Thought

“I would tell every newsroom, especially at a time when everybody is asked to do more with less that a resource like TopicPulse allows you to do more with less.” – Ken Charles

To learn how TopicPulse supports real-time story discovery and stronger local coverage for your newsroom, contact us today.