How Stirile Transilvaniei uses NotebookLM to scale their ambitions
Stirile Transilvaniei arrived in Warsaw with a unique badge: they were the only newsroom from Romania selected for the lab. Co-owner Andrei Nistor expressed immense pride in this achievement, but also the pressure that comes with being a smaller, local player in a landscape dominated by giants.
The Challenge: The "Resource Trap" For independent local media, growth is often stifled by administrative burdens. To launch a new investigative series or a community project, they need funding. However, writing grant proposals or strategic roadmaps takes dozens of hours—time that a small team needs to spend reporting the news.
Capacity: They lack a dedicated "Grant Writer" or "Strategy Officer."
Complexity: Donor requirements (PDFs from the EU or foundations) are dense and specific.
Missed Opportunities: Great ideas often die simply because the team is too busy to fill out the paperwork.
The Solution: NotebookLM as the "Development Strategist" Andrei and his team can leverage NotebookLM to act as their on-demand development department. By feeding the tool their own history and the donor’s requirements, they can bridge the gap between "idea" and "proposal" in minutes.
The Workflow:
The Input: The team creates a specific Notebook for a funding opportunity. They upload: 1. The 50-page PDF of the grant guidelines. 2. Their own "Stirile Transilvaniei" media kit and past successful project descriptions.
The Prompt: "Based on the donor's 'Evaluation Criteria' in the uploaded PDF, draft a project outline for our new local reporting initiative. Ensure you highlight our unique position as a Transylvanian newsroom, as described in our media kit."
The Iteration: They ask NotebookLM to critique the draft: "What weaknesses would a reviewer find in this proposal?"
The Outcome: Leveling the Playing Field This allows a local newsroom to compete with larger organizations for resources. It turns the administrative "chore" into a strategic exercise.
Efficiency: Reduces days of drafting to hours of refining.
Alignment: Ensures every proposal is perfectly tailored to what the donor is asking for (based on the uploaded docs).
Sustainability: Helps secure the funding needed to keep the newsroom running.