Formal requirements for this position don't seem to exist, so let me suggest a provisional King's List. The first requirement is obvious enough: you must produce content in several different mediums. Second, you must demonstrate a certain level of expertise and innovation in each of the mediums in which you work. (Without this requirement, the field would be too crowded: even actor/shouter/restaurateur Bruce Willis could potentially vie for the crown.) Third, your efforts should garner substantial popular acclaim. Fourth, you must exhibit uncommon charisma, surpassing the usual celebrity veneration and inspiring something akin to religious fervor.

Stern certainly meets the List's first requirement: in addition to his radio show, his TV show, and his two books, he has created videotapes, pay-per-view cable specials, and a wide range of collector-oriented merchandise. A movie version of Private Parts is also in the works.

The List's third requirement poses no challenge to Stern either. His popularity is immense: his radio show has millions of devoted listeners, both of his books set sales records for their respective publishers, and whenever he makes a personal appearance, he draws rabid, record crowds.

The List's second and fourth requirements are more problematic, however. At first glance, Stern seems to fulfill them, but if you consider them closely, doubts arise.

Has Stern mastered more than one medium?
Stern is, without question, talented. To begin with, he is a pure media animal. Like Rush Limbaugh or Camille Paglia, he has an instinct for finding whatever it is about a subject that makes it compelling, and then exploiting that aspect of it.