The Changing Face of Public Relations in Sri Lanka
- 13 hours ago
- 4 min read
Written by CIPR Ambassador for Sri Lanka Rishini Weeraratne.
From Function to Influence
Public relations and communications in Sri Lanka are undergoing a decisive transformation. Once largely viewed as a support function focused on publicity, media coverage, and event coordination, the discipline is increasingly operating as a strategic management tool that influences reputation, shapes public perception, and informs organisational decision making. This shift has not happened in isolation. It reflects a convergence of local realities and global forces, from digital disruption and corporate governance expectations to rising demands for transparency and accountability. For many years, public relations in Sri Lanka followed a familiar model. Practitioners built relationships with journalists, drafted press releases, organised press conferences, and secured coverage across print, television, and radio. These fundamentals still matter, particularly in a country where traditional media continues to hold public trust. However, the profession can no longer define itself solely by execution. Influence today is earned through insight, foresight, and credibility at the decision-making table.
Digital Acceleration and Reputational Exposure
The rapid growth of digital and social media has accelerated this shift. Platforms such as Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok now dominate how information is shared and consumed across Sri Lanka. Audiences no longer wait for official statements or next day headlines. They participate, react, challenge, and shape narratives in real time. For communicators, this presents both opportunity and risk. Organisations can speak directly to stakeholders, but they are also exposed to misinformation, online outrage, and reputational threats that escalate within minutes. In this environment, crisis communication is no longer a reactive skill. It is a core leadership capability.
Cyclone Ditwah and the Price of Unpreparedness
Sri Lanka’s experience with Cyclone Ditwah exposed the consequences of failing to treat communication as a strategic public safety function. Despite early meteorological warnings, there was no clear, consistent, or accessible communication in all three official languages. Communities were left uncertain about the severity of the threat and the actions required to protect themselves. Authorities and emergency services appeared severely underprepared, and fragmented messaging across platforms eroded public confidence. The outcome was tragic. Preventable loss of life highlighted a hard truth. Communication failures can be as dangerous as operational failures. Cyclone Ditwah demonstrated that crisis communication is not about issuing alerts. It is about coordination, clarity, linguistic accessibility, and trust. Without these, even accurate information loses its power to protect.
Trust Built in Crisis and Earned in Recovery
Sri Lanka’s modern communications landscape has been shaped by crisis. The end of the civil war in 2009 created new demands around reconciliation, development, and nation building. More recently, the economic crisis of 2022 forced organisations across sectors to communicate with unprecedented transparency and empathy. Silence, deflection, or overly polished messaging were no longer acceptable. In response, corporate communications has shifted from promotion to explanation. Stakeholders now expect organisations to justify decisions, acknowledge hardship, and demonstrate social responsibility. Purpose driven communication has moved from a branding trend to a reputational necessity.
A Profession Coming of Age
The industry itself is maturing. Sri Lanka has seen the rise of specialised PR agencies, digital firms, and independent consultants. Universities are producing graduates with stronger strategic and digital skills, while collaboration with international networks has introduced global standards in ethics, measurement, and governance. The establishment of the Sri Lanka Public Relations Association in 2025 marked a critical step in this evolution. PRASL represents a move towards professional accountability, collective learning, and ethical leadership. It signals that public relations in Sri Lanka is no longer content to operate in the shadows of marketing or media relations. As Mushtaq Ahmed, President of the Sri Lanka Association of Public Relations, notes, the profession has shifted from execution to trust, reputation, and credibility. The challenge now is not capability, but recognition. Communications must be seen as a core input into decision making, risk management, and long-term growth, not a function activated only when problems arise.
The Responsibility that Comes with Influence
Sri Lanka’s media environment is vibrant and influential, embedded deeply in public life. Navigating it requires judgment, cultural awareness, and a strong ethical compass. PR professionals operate at the intersection of organisations, media, government, and society. With that position comes responsibility. The next generation of Sri Lankan communicators is well equipped for this challenge. Digitally fluent, globally connected, and socially aware, they view public relations not as persuasion, but as dialogue. Business leaders are increasingly recognising the value of involving communicators early, while public institutions are experimenting with more open and participatory communication models.
A Sharper Question for the Future
The real question facing Sri Lanka’s PR industry is not whether it is evolving, but whether it is willing to fully embrace its power and accountability. Cyclone Ditwah made clear that communication failures cost lives. Economic crisis has shown that credibility cannot be manufactured in hindsight. If public relations is to claim its place as a strategic profession, it must insist on being present where decisions are made, not merely where messages are delivered. It must advocate for national crisis communication frameworks, challenge organisational complacency, and hold itself to the highest ethical standards. Public relations in Sri Lanka has moved beyond publicity. The next phase demands courage. Courage to speak truth to power, to prioritise public interest alongside organisational goals, and to recognise that in moments of national crisis, communication is not a support function. It is infrastructure. That is the responsibility and the opportunity before the profession now.
About the Writer:
Rishini Weeraratne is an award-winning media personality from Sri Lanka and currently serves as the Editor of The Sun (Daily Mirror), Sri Lanka, and the Head of Strategic Partnerships and External Communications at D3 Collective Limited (UK). She is also the Ambassador in Sri Lanka for the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR, UK)
and The HALO Trust.
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