# Media guide

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Media guide for the [1950 New York Yanks](/source/1950_New_York_Yanks_season)

A **media guide**, historically also known as a **dope book**, is a sports-related [press kit](/source/Press_kit), distributed as a book or binder, and published by sports teams before the start of the [sporting season](/source/Season_(sport)). It features information relating to the team players, history, [statistical records](/source/Statistics) and other similar items. Media guides are usually distributed to [sports journalists](/source/Sportswriting) to assist in their [broadcasting](/source/Broadcasting) of the team game.[1]

While generally not sold in retail [stores](/source/Retailing), media guides for professional sports teams are often available in their online stores or home web sites, along with being sold in physical form to the game attending public with [game programs](/source/Programme_(booklet)#Sporting_event) at in-stadium stands. Many major college and university sport media guides are available in [PDF](/source/PDF) or other electronic formats for free on their home web sites. Following the end of the season, the printed media guides are often discarded or given to fans of the team.

## History

Press guides – later known as media guides – have existed since at least the 1930s and provide one of the few detailed sources of comprehensive historical athletic data before the [Department of Education](/source/United_States_Department_of_Education) and [National Collegiate Athletic Association](/source/National_Collegiate_Athletic_Association) requirements of the 1980s.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

An older term for a similar type of publication is "dope book". According to *[Cassell's Dictionary of Slang](/source/Cassell's_Dictionary_of_Slang)*, the term originated in the 19th century and refers to an information book on any subject, but usually on [horse racing](/source/Horse_racing).[2]

## See also

- [Press kit](/source/Press_kit)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Gilman, Sam (7 February 2018). ["Media Guide 101"](https://web.archive.org/web/20200710110104/https://www.baseballebm.com/post/2018/02/07/media-guide-101). *European Baseball & Softball Magazine*. Archived from the original on July 10, 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Green, Jonathon (2005). ["dope book"](https://books.google.com/books?id=5GpLcC4a5fAC&dq=%22dope+book%22&pg=PA432). *Cassell's Dictionary of Slang* (2nd ed.). London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 432. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0304366366](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0304366366).

## External links

Media related to [Media guides](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Media_guides) at Wikimedia Commons

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Media guide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_guide) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_guide?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.