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Dr Andrew Ó Baoill

B.Sc., MA., PhD

Contact Details

Lecturer Below The Bar
Discipline of English
School of Humanities
NUI Galway

E: ANDREW.OBAOILL@nuigalway.ie
Lecturer Below The Bar
English
513 Tower 1
Arts Concourse

T: +353 91 494480
E: andrew.obaoill@nuigalway.ie
 
researcher

Biography

Dr. Ó Baoill holds a PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studied at the Institute for Communications Research. His work focuses on the political economy of the mass media, with a particular interest in the interplay of technological change, regulation and not-for-profit media.

At NUI Galway, he directs the MA in Journalism and the BA Connect with Journalism. He also teaches in the BA in English.

A graduate of NUI Galway, where he earned a BSc in Mathematics, he was the founding station manager of the university radio station, Flirt FM. He was appointed to the Broadcasting Complaints Commission by the Irish government in 1997, serving a three year term, and also worked as a Market Analyst within eircom's Strategic Pricing Unit from 1998-2002. He holds an MA in Communications and Cultural Studies from Dublin City University.

Research Interests

Grounded in the critical/cultural tradition, my research is focused on the structure of our evolving media environment, with a particular focus on the interplay between technology, participation, and democratic systems. My work draws together both the attitudes and activities of media participants, and the role of external factors such as economics and media policy. In my work I have drawn on my wide professional experiences - in media production and management; as a member of the Irish Broadcasting Complaints Commission; and in market analysis at eircom - as well as on my extensive work in socially engaged media to foster an understanding of the connections and tensions between our economic and legal systems and our social experiences.
 
I am particularly interested in how alternative media practitioners, such as community media outlets, navigate the landscape of regulatory, technological and funding constraints to secure production opportunities, and the tensions inherent in such strategies. I am currently examining this dynamic in a number of contexts, including study of the Sound & Vision scheme operated by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. This line of work has also involved a study of the manner in which alternative media practitioners have leveraged ‘second tier’ broadcast outlets when access to traditional broadcast channels has been removed, or unavailable in the first place, as well as the changing role of radio stations as curators of cultural content.
 
Underlying this work is an interest in how institutional constraints shape the actions of those seeking to engage in social change. My grounding in the critical/cultural tradition of communication studies serves to support my interest in investigating how individuals and groups come together to change their societies, and the conditions under which this occurs. My previous research projects have dealt with a variety of cases where technology and public participation are entwined. In examining these issues, I am able to draw, in addition to my scholarly training, on my varied experiences both as a member of a regulatory body as well as someone who has worked with a variety of such bodies in the communications and media field.

Peer Reviewed Journals

  Year Publication
(2014) 'Copyright, Community Radio, and Change: How the U.S. Community Radio Sector is Negotiating Changing Copyright Rules and the Rollout of Digital Distribution'
Ó Baoill, Andrew (2014) 'Copyright, Community Radio, and Change: How the U.S. Community Radio Sector is Negotiating Changing Copyright Rules and the Rollout of Digital Distribution'. Journal of Radio & Audio Media, 21 (1):163-176 [DOI] [Details]
(2000) 'Slashdot and the public sphere'
Ó Baoill, Andrew (2000) 'Slashdot and the public sphere'. First Monday, 5 (9) [DOI] [Details]

Conference Contributions

  Year Publication
(2015) IAMCR 2015,
Andrew Ó Baoill (2015) The prospects and challenges for Irish college radio. [Conference Paper], IAMCR 2015, Montreal, Canada , 12-JUL-15 - 16-JUL-15. [Details]

Thesis

  Year Publication
(2009) Broadcasting in an On-Demand World Creating Community Radio in the Era of Podcasting and Webcasting.
Ó Baoill, Andrew (2009) Broadcasting in an On-Demand World Creating Community Radio in the Era of Podcasting and Webcasting. Thesis [Details]

Teaching Interests

Based in the discipline of English, I teach on both the BA in English and the university's journalism programmes. My teaching interests include media technology; media industries and political economy of the media; cultural studies of media and journalism.

I am interested in hearing from potential PhD students interested in critical study of our media environment, and in those interested in post-graduate work in the fields of journalism and media studies.