About

I'm a London-based journalist with bylines in The Guardian, Financial Times, Journo Resources, Southwark News, ShoutOutUk and more. 

I am studying for my multimedia NCTJ with News Associates, undertaking professional placement with the Financial Times. I am also a freelance reporter for The Standard (Diary).  

I hold an MA Hons, University of Edinburgh (inc. exchange year at University of Sydney). I speak C1-level Spanish, and B2 -level Hindi and Portuguese.

I am interested in pursuing a career in news, but open to opportunities across desks. 

Read a selection of my recent work below.

Contact me: tmgrussell@outlook.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ta...

My Latest Work

South West Londoner •

Nicotine pouch adverts flood London as concerns rise over youth exposure | South West Londoner

Advertisements for nicotine pouches have dramatically increased across London, raising concerns about the growing number of younger generations using the product. 


Nicotine pouch brands Velo and Zyn are produced by British American Tobacco and Philip Morrison International respectively. 


The small, pillow-like sachets are placed under the lip, releasing nicotine into the bloodstream and delivering a fast, powerful hit.


Unlike tobacco products such as cigarettes or vapes, there is no leg...
South West Londoner •

South West London turns up the heat at annual hot sauce competition | South West Londoner

London’s annual hot sauce competition returned to Balham, where fifty homemade sauces were labelled and ready for tasting. 


The annual Chilli Sauce Championship. which happened on Sunday, is brought together by Pete Ellison, a hot sauce enthusiast whose passion project has grown into one of south-west London’s most tongue-tingling traditions.


The sauces, decanted from pickle jars, yogurt tubs and tupperware boxes, were lined up for the 11th year.


The Chilli Sauce Championship has become...
The Guardian •

‘Crafts are like medicine!’: Gen Z and the rapid rise of cosy hobbies

In a bright cafe just off Leith Walk in Edinburgh, a group of young people gather around a table strewn with fabric scraps, beads and crochet hooks. Each session brings a new theme: one week it’s crochet, the next jewellery-making, the week after that they learn latte-art. Coffees are sipped, biscuits are passed around and chatter fills the room.This is the Girls Craft Club, founded earlier this year by art history graduate Gabby after a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder left...
The Guardian •

The one change that worked: I got a period cup – and saved £120 a year

I was 18 when I tried a menstrual cup for the first time. I was studying at the University of Edinburgh and Scotland had just become the first country in the world to make period products free to those who need them. The university health service was offering menstrual cups alongside the usual sanitary pads and tampons. I picked one up out of curiosity and because I just couldn’t resist a freebie.I was used to spending £10 to £15 a month on period products, more if I was caught short and had to...
The Guardian •

UK wasp numbers soar after unusually warm and dry spring

If dodging swooping gulls trying to steal your chips wasn’t already enough, you might be spending your bank holiday trying to keep wasps away from your ice cream too.Britain is in the middle of a wasp boom. Not only have they arrived earlier than expected, but there are more of them than in recent summers. Experts say 2025 is an excellent year for them.Populations have soared across the UK thanks to an unusually warm and dry spring. The UK had its warmest spring for mean temperature on record, a...
The Guardian •

‘I thought no one would believe me’: wallaby sightings reported in Suffolk

At first glance Steven Ellis thought the small creature in the distance was a deer, but he soon realised he was witnessing something far more unusual.Ellis was near the village of Ilketshall St Andrew in Suffolk when he took out his camera and took a photograph of the animal, which turned out to be a wallaby.“We’ve got quite a few deer around, so I thought I must be mistaken,” he said. “But then I thought it was a kangaroo. I don’t think they’re far off. I stood there thinking: ‘Who do I ring to...
Journo Resources •

Decolonising Journalism: Lessons from Indigenous Storytelling

“Nothing about us, without us,” says Māori journalist Jamie Tahana, whose writing on Indigenous affairs has been published by The Guardian and New Zealand Herald. As journalism reckons with ongoing imbalances in representation and colonial legacies, Jamie’s statement encapsulates deeper questions at the heart of journalism today: whose voices are centred, whose voices are excluded, and who has the authority to tell a community’s story? 
Indigenous people have long been spoken about, rather than...
The Indiependent •

What To Do When The World Stops Working: Blackout across the Iberian Peninsula  : The Indiependent

It began at 12:13 with a flicker. The lights in the staffroom blinked off, then just as politely, back on. Odd.Classroom to ChaosThirty minutes later, mid-class with thirty eight-year-olds, the power cut out again. Lights, the whiteboard, internet. Gone. At first, I assumed it was just our classroom. Maybe the school? But as we changed class, another teacher came in, whispering like she was delivering state secrets:“It’s all of Spain and Portugal.”Well. That’s… larger than expected.The rumour mi...
The Indiependent •

The Camino: The Walking Adventure You Didn't Know You Needed : The Indiependent

When people talk about the Camino de Santiago, they often imagine a singular path such as the iconic Camino Francés which stretches 800 kilometres over northern Spain. In reality, the Camino is a vast network of pilgrimage routes, represented by the shell symbol, where all roads lead to Santiago de Compostela.From the rugged coastlines of the Camino del Norte to the ancient mountains of the Primitivo or spiritual way of the Camino Portugués, there’s a path for everyone. I walked the Camino Inglé...