Bryan Busby's substitute-weatherman gig on "Good Morning America" this week wrote itself an unexpected chapter called "Mr. Busby Goes to Washington." As part of his tryout for the job Spencer Christian is giving up in January, the KMBC chief meteorologist went to New York to spend five mornings with "GMA" co-anchors Lisa McRee and Kevin Newman. The week started with McRee in Washington covering President Clinton's testimony and Busby and Newman stationed in New York. But the show's producers apparently thought McRee and Newman shouldn't be apart so early in their on-air marriage - Newman replaced Charles Gibson earlier this year - and flew him and Busby down to join her. So on Tuesday, while New York basked in beautiful weather, Busby was standing outside, in the dark wool suit he'd brought with him for studio work, doing the weather in the brutal Washington heat. "The funniest thing was when Lisa McRee tossed to me saying something like, 'Here's Bryan on a hot, sticky, clammy morning,' " Busby told TVKC by phone. "And I said that was very insightful of her, considering where she was, which was inside an air-conditioned studio." There's been little else for Busby to sweat. The network has treated him like royalty, he said, shuttling him to and from his hotel in a limousine and furnishing him with makeup and hairstylists. Busby also got to play with the "GMA" weather map, an $ 80,000 rear-projection screen that eliminates the need for a monitor off-camera. "It's easy to get caught up in the glamour of the job," Busby said. "But honestly the weather center we've built at Channel 9 is better equipped than the weather center at 'GMA. ' " Busby has maintained all along that he may not be ready to trade off the security of working at a top-rated station and the freedom KMBC has given him to take a position at ABC. This week he sounded as though he hasn't changed his tune. "I'm making sure to stop and smell the roses," Busby said, "knowing that not too many people get invited to this ball." Katherine Bliss to Chicago WDAF, Channel 4, announced this week that longtime reporter and news anchor Katherine Bliss has accepted a similar position at WBBM in Chicago. Bliss said that although her responsibilities at WBBM have not been completely worked out, she will be a general-assignment reporter and anchor in late September. Her last day at WDAF will be Sept. 4. Stan Knott, WDAF's general manager, said she would be missed. The feeling, said Bliss, is more than mutual. She grew up in Kansas City and has spent the last 10 years here, eight of those at WDAF. (From 1991 to 1993 she was manager of public relations for Sprint.) "Channel 4 made me feel welcome to stay and gave me the opportunity to stay in a very nice way," Bliss said. But Bliss said it was the persistence of WBBM news director Jeff Bartlett that convinced her to make the move. Bliss and Bartlett had worked together 12 years ago at a station in Tulsa, Okla. He had made her two previous offers. "She's an excellent reporter with a wealth of experience," Bartlett said in a statement this week. "She'll be a wonderful addition to our team." Bliss appeared ready to try something in one of the country's top markets. She also interviewed for the morning anchor's position at KRON in San Francisco this year. In the end, though, it was the chance to work for Bartlett and the WBBM newsroom in a major market close to Kansas City that won her over. Any downside? "The winters and that lake-effect wind," she said. "It's hard to believe, but I'll actually miss Kansas City winters." StarTouch: 889-7827 and enter 8852 (TVKC). E-mail: writeme@tvbarn.com.
