Quiz Time

Quiz Time premiered on Friday, October 8, 1954 at 9:30 PM for 30 minutes. The initial program featured remarks by Mayor Robert F. Wagner and Director of the Department of Personnel and Chairman of the Civil Service Commission Joseph Schechter. The program series pit two teams, each representing one of the sixteen municipal departments, against each other in a quiz on civic facts and figures.

According to Schechter, 'We want the quiz to inform listeners on city affairs as well as entertain them." In a statement prepared for delivery at the outset of the initial program, Mavor Wagner said: "This is a new departure in the presentation of news and information concerning your city government. We hope that you will listen in each week and take an active part in this program, which is designed to give you a clear idea of how the thousands of loyal employees of the city are serving you."

The program was presented by WNYC in cooperation with the Department of Personnel, will be moderated by Dr. John Furia, Examiner of the Department. The first twenty-five-minute program featured a team composed of a stenographer, interviewer, and investigator from the Department of Welfare vying with a fireman, truckman, and fire boat lieutenant from the Fire Department.