Ayman Oghanna
JournalistPhotographer
United Kingdom
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]
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
- Oghanna was diagnosed with Bipolar I disorder during a psychiatric hospitalization in London in 2016. He has written that this was the first time he heard the term “bipolar 1,” after years of experiencing intense euphoria followed by severe depressive lows. [1]
- In a 2025 first-person essay for Columbia Journalism Review, he publicly discussed the diagnosis in detail and reflected on how difficult it had been to recognize his illness within the high-pressure culture of conflict journalism. [1]
- Oghanna has described manic episodes marked by overwhelming confidence, energy and a sense of invincibility. During these periods, he could become confrontational and impulsive, damaging professional relationships with editors and colleagues. He has also described depressive episodes that followed these highs and left him isolated and unable to experience pleasure. [1]
- During his 2016 crisis in London, Oghanna said he stood in a hotel lobby in his underwear believing a smoke detector was giving him secret instructions. Police restrained and arrested him after he swung a chair, and he was subsequently taken to a psychiatric hospital. After a week on the ward, he returned to work while still manic and soon lost a professional relationship after clashing with an editor. [1]
- Oghanna has said that receiving his Bipolar I disorder diagnosis gave him “a name to the chaos and a path to treatment.” [1]
- Oghanna has written about the stigma surrounding mental illness in journalism, particularly for freelancers who may fear losing work if they disclose a diagnosis or seek treatment. He argues that the culture of conflict reporting can normalize extreme stress, substance use and erratic behaviour, making mental-health problems easier to overlook. [1]
- By publicly discussing his own Bipolar I disorder, Oghanna said he wanted to speak for journalists who felt unable to disclose similar struggles and to reassure them that they were not alone. [1]
“I want them to know that they are not alone.”
— Ayman Oghanna [1]
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.
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.
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.
Pulitzer Center“Ayman Oghanna” Professional biography covering Oghanna’s work as a journalist and photographer and his international reporting.
View all 4 sources
Pulitzer Center“Libya: Rebirth of a Nation” Documents Oghanna’s reporting and photography from Libya following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi.
Learn more
Recommended books and other resources about Ayman Oghanna and their experiences.