You don't need to go back 200 years even. First Oval Office address was made by Hoover in 1929, less than 100 years ago. Television appearances started happenin

You don't need to go back 200 years even. First Oval Office address was made by Hoover in 1929, less than 100 years ago. Television appearances started happening post-war, first apparently by Truman in 1947, but really more common from 50s onward. In the 18th and 19th centuries you heard what the president said through newspapers, subject to whatever editorial policies each happened to have.