Twenty years later Hartford, Conn., finally has repaid Kansas City for stealing Gayle King. KCTV, Channel 5, announced this week that the anchor chair formerly occupied by Tracy Townsend has been awarded to Dee Griffin, currently an anchor-reporter at WFSB-TV in Hartford. Griffin joins the station April 16; she'll work opposite Russell Kinsaul on KCTV's 6 p.m. newscasts and Wendall Anschutz at 10 p.m. It was WFSB that in 1981 called King, then a rising anchor-reporter at WDAF, Channel 4, and asked if she'd like to become a full-time anchor. In Hartford, King became a star; later, she landed her own syndicated talk show and then a daily news-talk program on the Oxygen channel. WFSB is the same station sending Griffin to KCTV. She worked there 3 1/2 years, most recently in the steppingstone position of reporter and weekend anchor. Before that, the Augusta, Ga., native worked at stations in her hometown and in Tupelo, Miss. "Dee has been a very active member of the Hartford community," said KCTV news director Don North. "She is looking forward to doing the same right here in Kansas City," where, North added, her father and other family members now live. The move didn't surprise insiders. For weeks it had been rumored that the two top contenders for Townsend's old job were Harris Faulkner and someone from WFSB (which, like KCTV, is owned by Meredith Corp.). Faulkner, now in the Twin Cities, flatly denied she was considering a move. That left Griffin. Also joining KCTV next month is Teri Schaefer, who joins her husband, political reporter Dave Helling, in making the jump from Channel 4 to Channel 5. Schaefer will start her general-assignment reporter duties April 9. Channel 5 is venturing once more into the dusty realm of local programming with "KC-B2B," a half-hour show focusing on area entrepreneurs. Former CBS producer Mark Honer created the show. The pilot episode, airing 11:30 a.m. March 31, will profile three local businesses: software company Raviant Networks, the Board of Public Utilities in Kansas City, Kan., and Event Management International, an up-and-coming corporate hospitality firm. Though a preview wasn't available, a press release promised that these businesses would "get the recognition they deserve" on the program. And Honer said that after the program airs the companies could get copies of their profiles to show to prospective clients. So viewers shouldn't expect hard-hitting investigative journalism out of "KC-B2B." But then, who ever accused CNBC or "Moneyline" of being hard-hitting? Not much changed ratings-wise during the February "sweeps," though KSHB, Channel 41, is coming awfully close to claiming third place in the crucial 10 p.m. news derby. As usual, KMBC, Channel 9, won every time period in which it aired newscasts - including the 1 a.m. repeat of its 10 p.m. news, according to Nielsen Media Research. KCTV finished a solid second at 5, 6 and 10 but fared poorly in the morning. At 9:30 p.m., the height of prime time, KSHB was the most-watched station in town, with Channel 5 (CBS) running second and Channel 9 (ABC) third. By 10:15, however, many of those NBC and CBS viewers were watching KMBC news. KSHB lost a third of its viewers in those 45 minutes - but that was a big improvement over a couple of years ago, when the station was lucky to hold onto half of the NBC audience. And its ratings came within a whisker of third-place WDAF at 10 p.m. There was better news for WDAF in late nights, where Channel 4's lineup of "Friends," "3rd Rock" and "M*A*S*H" soundly beat Channel 9's once-formidable 10:30-to-midnight block. So weak was KMBC that at 12:05 a.m., Ted Koppel's "Nightline" was beaten by another "M*A*S*H" repeat. Nielsen notes from Kansas City's smaller stations: KMCI, Channel 38, also known as "38 Family Greats," pulled in its highest ratings whenever it aired repeats of that family-friendly program "The Simpsons." KPXE, Channel 50, was the top-rated independent station in Kansas City from 9 to 10 p.m. with its nightly repeat of "Diagnosis Murder." No one can say for sure, however, that viewers weren't using the show as a sleeping aid, much as Uncle Junior on "The Sopranos" did. KCWE, Channel 29, ran an outdoor sign campaign for "Entertainment Tonight," now seen at 6:30 p.m. (as well as 11:35 p.m. on sister station KMBC). The hype worked: "ET" was the UPN affiliate's biggest non-network show in February. KSMO, Channel 62, drew its best numbers with two "Frasier" repeats at 10 p.m. And though they're non-commercial, the folks at public TV station KCPT, Channel 19, surely know that their highest number of the whole day came at 5:30 p.m., when kids flocked to the animated show "Dragon Tales." You can reach Aaron Barnhart through the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. >>>