Howard Stern vs. Larry King: It Is On!

King of All Media goes after King of CNN following purported snub

The King of All Media is taking on the King of CNN in one heckuva battle royale.

In one corner we have Howard Stern, who labeled Larry King a "loser" and the "luckiest man in show business" at a Hamptons party over the weekend.

In the other, we have the talk-show host, expert lobber of softball questions, who laid into the shock jock, calling him "worthless."

Let the sniping begin.

Stern talked about the budding feud on his Sirius radio show on Monday, saying a woman from the New York Daily News asked him his thoughts on King after the retiring CNN fixture told Steppin' Out magazine that the shock jock would not be a suitable substitute.

"No, I wouldn't want to be compared to Howard Stern," King told the Hamptons rag, adding that "he's not tasteful at all."

"You go to the least common denominator and that's Howard Stern."

Mr. Suspenders was also quoted as saying the radio legend "would like you to print that I called him a smock."

Presumably Larry meant "schmuck," which of course is Yiddish for a certain male organ. In any case, he ended by saying, "I regard Howard Stern as worthless."

Stern, who's never been a fan of the CNN gabber, was on vacation when he learned about the remarks and hit back hard. He suggested King only found success after he was recruited by the cable network 25 years ago to a gig that gave him a monopoly on nightly prime-time talk.

"Larry King did overnight radio. He got no ratings," said Stern. "He moved to CNN where he had no competition. As soon as MSNBC and Fox News gave him a little bit of competition, the cards folded."

Just as he shot down  rumors he'd be taking over for Simon Cowell on American Idol, Stern rejected the notion he'd consider stepping in for King. But if he did...

"I would do everything that Larry doesn't do because Larry's a loser and he lost his entire audience," Stern told the Daily News. "Let's be honest, he didn't retire willingly. The man had one foot in the grave. It's obvious, he is no longer relevant."

Stern has a point. King' viewership has declined by half over the past year, prompting rumors CNN might oust him.

Stern also said King was a terrible interviewer and then made light of the 76-year-old King's marital record (he's on his ninth marriage), including the rocky relationship between King and wife Shawn. (The two are attempting to reconcile after calling off  dueling divorce petitions ast week.)

"It's alleged he was banging his wife's sister and he's saying that I'm tasteless?" asked Howard incredulously. "He's a frog...an imp and he's the luckiest man in show business."

The clock is ticking on King's retort.