Bipolar Lives

Ayman Oghanna

JournalistPhotographerUnited Kingdom

JournalistPhotographer

United Kingdom

Bipolar I disorderSelf-disclosed[1]

Ayman Oghanna is a British-Iraqi journalist, photographer and broadcaster known for reporting from conflict zones across the Middle East and Eastern Europe. His work has appeared in outlets including The New York Times, BBC, The Washington Post, National Geographic and Foreign Policy, and he is particularly known for his coverage of the fight against the Islamic State. [1][2][3]

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Career and work

Oghanna began working as a freelance conflict journalist in Iraq in 2009. Early in his career, photographs he took after bombings near Baghdad’s Hamra Hotel were published on the front page of The New York Times. He later worked across photography, video, reporting, broadcasting and documentary production for international news organizations. [2][1]

His reporting has taken him across conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere. He covered Libya after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi for the Pulitzer Center and later reported extensively from Iraq, including from the front lines of the campaign against the Islamic State. [2][3][4]

What has been publicly discussed

Sources and other resourcesExpand to view the sources used in this profile and resources to learn more.

Sources used for this profile

The following sources contain information that supports the claims made on this page.

  1. Columbia Journalism Review“The Storm Inside”

    Oghanna’s 2025 first-person essay covering his Bipolar I disorder diagnosis, mania and depression, 2016 psychiatric hospitalization, professional consequences and reflections on mental-health stigma within journalism.

  2. Ayman Oghanna“About”

    Oghanna’s professional biography describing his work as a journalist, photographer and broadcaster and his focus on conflict, migration, the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

  3. Pulitzer Center“Ayman Oghanna”

    Professional biography covering Oghanna’s work as a journalist and photographer and his international reporting.

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Learn more

Recommended books and other resources about Ayman Oghanna and their experiences.

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Profile status: Published