It seems to me that the publicists are working overtime to create a march to war treadmill to backstop our governement and the US governement's decision to send troops, guns, bombs, or money to overthrow the regime in Syria.
First it was the human rights abuse stories, then it was the refugee camp stories, then it was was a raft of stories about how the rebels were not linked to al qaida (that seems to be true), now there are stories about Syria using chemical weapons. Will this story be the mushroom cloud that galvanized the West into another invasion?
No one needs to give anyone orders to get stories like that. If you are a writer for a major Canadian newspaper you have likely inculcated the basic assumptions of Western power, otherwise you wouldn't be writing for a "major" paper. Fact is there are legitimate reasons to report all those stories - they ARE happening. The question is should these stories take the next step and advocate for Western intervention (though let's not forget that interviewing Conservative party members in government will give space for those kinds of stories to go that way as Harper/McKay and others will lead the stories in that direction).
Canada, steeped in the national myth of being World "Peacekeepers", I think its very natural and organic for editorials and stories to present that next step to us as a realistic option. Syria is a "disfavoured" nation that has long-been in the list of "bad nations" that represent interests opposed to Western interests (being more allied with Shia proxy forces in Lebanon and Iran and Russia - also a classic enemy of Israel) - so when atrocities happen in these places especially, the "what are we gonna DO about it!?" angle is even easier to get excited about...
If you are a writer for a major newspaper then you have inculcated the national myth of "peacekeeping", you are likely largely in-line with a foreign policy view that places Syria in the "bad nation" category (and there's legitimate reasons to put them there IMO, even if it is propagandistic).
So is the drumbeat manufactured or is it organic?
To me I would say 90% organic - there's no need for there to be much more to explain it....