Nah, it started well before Faux Nooz existed. I don't remember the details I read somewhere a while back, but basically this started in the early/mid 1970s when some Republican strategist realized they could use abortion as an extremely effective "wedge" issue to attack liberal politicians. Additionally, they learned to use brain-dead, but charismatic figures like Reagan to be the likeable face of the Republican party when they couldn't find a smart one who was popular with a wide audience.

Fox's success was made more possible by increasing knowledge and expertise of effective strategies to manipulate people that newer psychology and data science fields brought to the table. Conservatives have always been quick to jump on new methods of controlling people - ones that liberals by their very nature aren't all that prone to taking advantage of.