University of Guelph-Humber

It’s safe to say that Jay Stenhouse hit it out of the park with his very first job as a teenager.

At just 15 years old, Stenhouse joined the Toronto Blue Jays in 1985 as a special runner, or a “gopher.” Over the ensuing 31 years, Stenhouse worked a variety of different positions for the club before ascending to his current position as vice-president of communications for the Blue Jays.

When Stenhouse visited the University of Guelph-Humber recently to address a class in the Media Studies program, he acknowledged that many sports fans would fantasize about having a job like his. After all, he certainly did.

“It’s something I dreamed about as a kid,” Stenhouse said, noting that it’s still a demanding position. “I put in lots of hours, but it doesn’t feel like a job.”

For a public relations class, Stenhouse explained the wide scope of his job with Canada’s only Major League Baseball team. His team handles media access and requests, crisis management and special events, as well as producing the 400-page official media guide and daily game notes. All this, Stenhouse noted, is accomplished with a team of only four full-time employees.

During his talk with students, Stenhouse offered advice on managing the media and preparing players to talk to the media, although he noted “you can only help people who want to be helped.” The biggest change to his job has been social media, Stenhouse said, because of the speed at which stories now break and the direct interaction between players and public. Of course, discretion is crucial in pro sports, so it’s not surprising that some parts of Stenhouse’s discussion were off-the-record; he asked students to promise not to post certain pieces of information on social media.

His public-relations philosophy extends far beyond baseball. A point-by-point breakdown of his approach centred on educating the parties involved, building relationships, anticipating the story and shaping, co-ordinating and delivering a message.

Ultimately, he said, his communications team is focused on the public.

“We’re trying to make the product more interesting for the fans,” he said.

Stenhouse is one of the latest real-world executives to visit public relations professor Heath Applebaum’s classroom. Public relations leaders from top PR agencies and companies including TD Canada Trust, Loblaw, Starbucks, Universal Music, Labatt, Indigo Books and the TTC have also visited the University of Guelph-Humber in Toronto to share case studies and advice with students.

“I am a big advocate of bringing the real world into the classroom and breathing life into the curriculum in a way that reinforces key learning outcomes in my course,” said Applebaum, who has 20 years of experience in the public-relations industry.

“I strive to make all of my classes highly relevant and engaging. By inviting innovative guest speakers to share the latest work they are doing, it inspires my students and exposes them to a variety of career options.”

Learn more about Media Studies at the University of Guelph-Humber.