PDT Staff Report

Let’s put what you know to a test: Play the “Test Your Local News Knowledge” quiz beginning this Monday at portsmouth-dailytimes.com.

Daily Times General Manager Michael Messerly explains what the quiz is about.

“Games are very popular online and we thought it would be fun to create a weekly quiz based on news stories our newsroom produced from the previous week,” Messerly said. “We do publish an awful lot of local news and information daily, the questions are based on just a sample of stories, and when people take the quiz, I think they’ll find out just how much information the Daily Times produces. People might not do as well as they think.”

It’s simple to play. At portsmouth-dailytimes.com, click the Local Features tab. From the Contests page, select “Test Your Local News Knowledge” and register to play.

Play against all Daily Times participants or choose a group of family or friends to compete with. Answer the 10 questions on local current events. Those who get the most correct will be recognized by the game as a Mr. or Miss Portsmouth Know It All. In the future, Messerly said he wants the winners to be eligible for prizes.

“What a fun, creative way for a local business to drive some traffic through their front door with prize winners and their friends or family,” Messerly said. “I’d even let them come up with some questions of their own.”

The website keeps track of your weekly and overall performance and even manages the groups you join or create.

The quiz begins just after midnight each Monday and will accept entries until 5 p.m. that day. Correct answers and scores will be revealed online and in the next day’s edition of the Daily Times. The quiz is currently in a beta stage, meaning there will be changes made for improvements in the future.

“It should be fun and informative,” Messerly said. “I said when I arrived we would be trying out some new ideas in the community and this is just another example of the type of innovative ideas we plan to continue to explore. But, if someone expects to win, they better start reading up.”