In the general clamor over how a rising tide of “tribalism” is dividing American society, too little attention is paid to the parallel upheaval taking place in contemporary media.

This isn’t about revolutionary changes in technology, leading to new, lightning-quick modes of communication. Rather, it’s about how the motivation underlying so much messaging has changed so drastically. Packaged as “normal” news, what we too often get today is blabber with attitude, a conscious effort to obscure any distinction between fact and fiction.

Yes, partisan messaging isn’t new. But what’s surfaced recently is different — at least in degree. It started when the Federal Communications Commission (in 1987) dropped the “Fairness Doctrine” (requiring broadcasters to afford some degree of balance when covering public issues); followed almost immediately by a surge in right-wing talk radio, led by the ascendant firebrand, Rush Limbaugh.

Suddenly, entire radio stations began cranking out nothing but one-sided opinion. Later, the phenomenon spread to television and the internet, with the emergence of channels and websites more interested in propagating something than reporting something. While other propagandists abound on radio or online (Rush, Drudge, Breitbart, etc.), nothing matches the preeminence of Fox News, a cable service launched in 1996.

Indeed, Fox pumps most of the oxygen into what’s become a 24/7 conservative echo chamber, relentlessly energizing and reinforcing those on the extreme right. Any pretense of real reporting is constantly eclipsed by propaganda for (or against) the ruling party; the exact opposite of accountability journalism (i.e., gathering stories based on facts, not shaping stories to support one’s “tribe”).

It’s true, of course, that there are plenty of competitive media sources that, justifiably, can be said to be more liberal or conservative in general outlook. However, that’s always been the case in American journalism, exemplified by national news services and leading metropolitan dailies that, despite having a distinct editorial voice, remain focused on delivering fact-based journalism, regardless of the direction a particular story takes.

Not so with Fox News (and lesser agitators on talk radio or online). For these outlets, everything becomes an us versus them form of combat, where competitive media, the opposition political party and anyone else they disagree with is the enemy. Fox hosts don’t just go on the air to report and inform, they treat their media perch as a pulpit to preach character assassination or to demonize opponents.

Examples of their demagogic methods are legion, but nothing better illustrates how far they’ll go than their recent campaign to delegitimize Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the entire federal law enforcement apparatus. Underway for weeks, the effort reached a fever pitch just before Christmas, with a Fox News chyron blaring: “A COUP IN AMERICA?” It was the Jeanine Pirro show and she was calling Mueller’s team investigating ties between people close to Trump and Russian operatives “a criminal cabal.” Her screed ended by imploring that all those involved should be taken out “in cuffs.”

Sean Hannity, Fox’s top-rated personality, has called Mueller “the head of a snake,” and numerous other Fox analysts have recklessly compared the FBI to the KGB. So, it wasn’t surprising when Greg Jarrett, a Fox legal commentator, wrapped up this coordinated tirade by claiming that: “[Mueller] has been using the FBI as a political weapon ... becom[ing] America’s secret police.”

Such baseless flame-throwing isn’t normal — even in the garbage dump that usually passes for cable “news”. It’s dangerous anti-government rabble-rousing, flagrantly fomenting public distrust in vital national institutions.

But it gets worse, because, by all accounts, Fox is President Donald Trump’s favorite channel. He appears frequently (largely ignoring other outlets), watches incessantly, and talks regularly with  Hannity and Rupert Murdoch (Fox’s chairman). It’s a highly corrosive feedback loop where Fox willingly amplifies Trump’s message, and Trump eagerly scans Fox programming for material he can turn into tweets for the whole world. He recently posted five consecutive tweets triggered by something he’d seen on “Fox & Friends.”

Together, they’ve turned the normal media/government relationship upside down. Instead of holding administration officials accountable, Fox cheers them on, acting more like “state-run” television. Instead of upholding the media’s constitutionally protected role, Trump viciously attacks news organizations (with one big exception), acting more autocratic than democratic.

Carl Ramey, a retired communications attorney and monthly contributor to The Sun, lives in Gainesville.