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. He has also published on critical pedagogies for media studies, including on open scholarship.

At the University of Galway, he contributes to modules in English and Media Studies, including the BA (English and Media Studies). He is the recipient of an Irish Research Council New Foundations grant. Currently serving as chair of the SEMCA Teaching and Learning Committee, he is also a member of the Mincéirs Misld in Education Committee, a sub-committee of the universitys Widening Participation Committee, and of the university's Archive Strategy Committee.

A graduate of the University of Galway (then 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 eircoms Strategic Pricing Unit from 1998-2002. He holds an MA in Communications and Cultural Studies from Dublin City University.

He was a member of the founding Steering Group of Media Literacy Ireland. He is a member of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR, where he currently serves asa vice-Chair of the Community Communication and Alternative Media (COM) section, and is active with the International Communication (INC) section.

While studying towards his PhD at the University of Illinois, he served as producer of Media Matters with Bob McChesney (WILL-AM, Illinois Public Media), as station manager of WRFU-LPFM, as a presenter with WEFT-FM, and as a member of the steering group of the Urbana Independent Media Center. He is currently producer of A Critical Ear, broadcast in Galway on Flirt FM, and in the US on WRFU-LP, and occasionally on other stations such as WORT FM (Madison, WI). He holds a radio experimenters (ham) license, callsign EI7EIB.

He was, while studying at Illinois, president of the Graduate Employees Organization (IFTAFT 6300, AFL-CIO) and a trustee of the Champaign County Labor Council, and is currently a delegate to the Galway Trades Council (IFUT). Subsequent to his PhD studies, Dr Ó Baoill served from 2009-2014 on the faculty of Cazenovia College, where he was faculty advisor of WITC FM.

Grounded in the criticalcultural 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 amp; 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 criticalcultural 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 - No restriction 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.

Based in the discipline of English, I teach on both the BA in English and the BA in English and Media Studies, and coordinate the minor in Media Studies. 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.