Leigh Hart & Jason Hoyte get their radio degrees, promise not to start wearing suits

Radio Hauraki hosts Leigh Hart and Jason Hoyte can now call themselves qualified broadcasters.

The Bhuja show hosts were each awarded a honorary degree in Radio Broadcasting from the New Zealand School of Radio in Tauranga this afternoon.

"I'm chuffed," Mr Hart said. "Even my parents will be feeling proud of me now."

"I think I'll have a lot more mana around the family home now," Mr Hoyte said. "But we're not gonna start wearing suits."

Both men attended university in their youth but never finished, so it was their first time graduating.

It was a ceremony with a difference. The Grey Street radio school rolled out a literal red carpet and greeting the graduates with cheerleaders, a fishing rod guard of honour and Eye of the tiger.

Mr Hart and Mr Hoyte, who have been on the air together for three years, gave the students a "masterclass" in radio broadcasting.

They discussed their earliest goals for their show, and how they would make it different.

"We said, 'We want to be the s******* DJs you've ever heard in your life'," Mr Hoyte said.

They wanted to keep it "loose" and "organic".

"If anything works about the show it's that no one knows what's coming up next," Mr Hart said.

Spurning traditional radio show formats, such as regular segments, meant they had to come up with fresh content every day - one of the hardest parts of the job.

They talked the students through how a little thing that happened in their day could become a talking point on air.

On the relationship between telling the truth and telling a good story, they agreed every conversation started with "a kernel of truth".

"But 80 per cent of what we talk about on the radio is absolute bollocks," Mr Hoyte said.

Pearls of wisdom for making radio from the Bhuja boys

Jase's tips
A screen and voice actor, Jason Hoyte has been in at least 25 television shows, including Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby and Nothing Trivial.

- "If it's bad, it's got to be good-bad."
- "Never make your guests look stupid."
- "It takes time to find your voice."

Leigh's advice

Television personality Leigh Hart is known for his work as "That Guy", shows including Sports Cafe and Moon TV, and for hawking bacon in advertisements for Hellers.

- "Don't take it too seriously."
- "It's just talking."
- "I wouldn't change anything we do for ratings."

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission.