Who first called Reagan “The Great Communicator”?

Factual Questions
1

In the song “Popular” from Wicked, Galinda has the line When I see depressing creatures/With unprepossessing features/I remind them on their own behalf/To think of/Celebrated heads of state/Or ‘specially Great Communicators…

To begin with, I’ve always interpreted that as a sly dig at President Reagan, who was often characterized as “The Great Communicator” (especially since she goes on to sing Did they have brains or knowledge?/Don’t make me laugh!).

But I never knew who first applied the term to Reagan, or even if it was coined specifically for him. Do Dopers know?

TIA

2

This NYT article refers in turn to a 1976 NYT column referring to him as a great communicator: https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/13/weekinreview/and-yes-he-was-a-great-communicator.html. I couldn’t find any earlier references.

3

That could be the earliest reference. Later on Pat Buchanan among others used the term frequently.