Martin Umansky died in Wichita last week at 83.

Martin Umansky died in Wichita last week at 83. The Kansas broadcaster embodied the tie between local stations and their communities. As the top executive at KAKE-TV Wichita (as well as the co-located AM) in the 1950s and '60s, he helped make the affiliate of the third network, ABC, into the perennial top station in the market, with his emphasis on localism, including strong local news and public affairs. "Ratings should never be the sole means of judging a buy," he once told Broadcasting & Cable. "The station that is closely integrated with the community is the one that will produce the greatest results for its advertisers."