Sunday Quiz ‘Whoever controls the media, controls the mind’
Who commissioned Monty Python’s Flying Circus?
START THE QUIZ
1 / 10 |
This world renowned institution broadcast its first television news bulletin on July 5, 1954, with the News and Newsreel and the top story was on peace talks of Indo-China. It began with a summary of the news, illustrated with maps and stills. Newsreaders Richard Baker and John Snagge were out of vision as it was thought their appearance would be a distraction and possibly even betray their opinions. Which institution is this that is the world’s oldest national broadcaster, and the largest by number of employees?
2 / 10 |
This show is the world’s longest running weekly music show. It was first aired in January 1964, and The Rolling Stones were the first band to perform on it. Each weekly show consisted of performances from some of that week’s best-selling popular music records, usually excluding any tracks moving down the chart, including a rundown of that week’s singles chart. What is the name of this popular show which was known by the acronym TOTP?
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This gentleman was BBC Director of Programmes in 1969 and was responsible for two revolutionary things: 1) he was responsible for televised snooker, as colour TV had been introduced and he realised that the coloured [billiard] balls showed off its advantages. 2) he commissioned Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Who was this gentleman who is known and loved because of what he went on to do, which made the world amazing for all python lovers?
4 / 10 |
In 1930, the evening before Good Friday, the Home Office was desperate to deny a newspaper account of an interview with the home secretary. It was aware that no newspapers would be published over Easter, so it contacted BBC Radio to ensure the denial was included in the evening radio news. This led to a unique happenstance in news history. What happened that evening during the news which involved a piano piece?
5 / 10 |
The GTS, also known as ‘the pips’, is a series of six short tones broadcast at one-second intervals by BBC Radio stations every hour, on the hour. They were introduced in 1924 and have been generated by the BBC since 1990. If ‘TS’ stands for ‘Time Signal’ what does G stand for which refers to the fact that the BBC is based off London?
6 / 10 |
In 1957, BBC aired a segment showing a family harvesting spaghetti from the family spaghetti tree. When viewers asked how they could grow their own, they were told to place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best. This segment received a lot of criticism but people were pointed to the fact that it was aired on a certain day. On what day was this aired?
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From 1960 to 2013, Television Centre in west London was the hub for the BBC’s television broadcasts. One theory for the building’s unusual shape was that it was the result of architect Graham Dawbarn drawing a question mark on a piece of paper. Later an article in BBC Quarterly proposed that the circular design existed well before he was hired. Due to its unusual shape by what sweet pastry name is it referred to by the staff?
8 / 10 |
The very first on-air instance of what is considered a modern phenomenon was actually during a live 1984 BBC telecast where the presenters were trying to educate viewers about the advantage of a brand new technology called ‘E-mail’ over traditional letter. When they tried accessing the email someone had left a pirate tune for them. This unauthorised incident happened because one of them had inadvertently said the password out loud. What had been done, which is a subject of several discussions to improve security today?
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The term ‘BBC English’ was used as an alternative name for an accent, known popularly as ‘RP’, which is traditionally regarded as the standard for British English. It is so popular that the English Pronouncing Dictionary uses the term ‘BBC Pronunciation’ to label its recommendations. The definition of the first word, ‘R____’ conveys its original meaning of ‘accepted’ or ‘approved’ — as in ‘r____ wisdom’. What is the correct name for this accent?
10 / 10 |
The Blue Police Box is a box which had a telephone inside using which one could directly call the police for help. They also contained an incident book, a fire extinguisher and a first aid kit. They were quite prevalent from the early 1920s well into the 20th century. Since 1996, the BBC has trademarked the Blue Police Box due to a vital role it plays in a popular BBC TV series. What is the name of this series, which sounds more like a question?
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The Hindu Quizzes / The Hindu Sunday Magazine / television / television industry / media / mass media / news media
