Daniel O'Brien has been a research and teaching assistant at the Chair of Innovation Management and Media at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar since April 2023. In this role, he primarily supports project-based teaching at the department. His research interests in media management are focused on the digitalization of media and its consequences, media usage and technology acceptance (media and technology user behavior), as well as quantitative empirical methods of social research. He also applies machine learning methods in his research.
At the same time, since January 2022, he has been working as a research associate at the Schmalenbach Institute for Business Studies at TH Köln (University of Applied Sciences), focusing on media-specific topics. In November 2022, he successfully completed his doctoral studies at the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne, with a dissertation on "The Digital Transformation of the News Media Business - Paid Content and Entrepreneurship in Digital Journalism" (Dr. rer. pol.). During his doctoral studies, he was employed at the Professorship of Media and Technology Management at the University of Cologne from December 2018 to November 2021.
Prior to his doctoral studies, Daniel O'Brien completed a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy & Political Science (University of Münster), a Master's degree in Cognitive Science (Ruhr-University Bochum), and another Bachelor's degree in Film Directing (International Film School Cologne/ Cologne University of Applied Sciences). His diverse academic background has led to a wide range of research interests and a passion for interdisciplinary approaches. In addition to his academic work, these interests have also led him to jobs in media companies, teaching positions in the media and film industry, as well as freelance work for public institutions and companies. He continues to work as a freelance author and spends every free moment searching for the right image or word.