A response from President Harry Truman's October 1947 mass media message. The first-ever televised address from The White House.
POTUS was asking Americans to cut back on their use of grain to help Europe. WWII had been over for two years, but many Europeans were still recovering from the devastation that had occurred, including the loss of life, destruction of infrastructure, and food shortages.
US President Truman turned to television to get the message out to the nation. At this time, television was still in its infancy, and only about 44,000 U.S. households had a television set. Truman reached out directly to the public through news reports and radio broadcasts, and many people who lived in rural areas could also watch television in public establishments.