Reframing PR Education IN Sri Lanka-From Experiment to Transformation Killing the hype: The new architecture of trust

Historically confined as a mere footnote within Colombo-centric journalism and marketing modules, Public Relations has finally broken free from capital-centric academic monopolies. Initiated against institutional skepticism in 2008, the University of Kelaniya’s landmark Public Relations and Media Management (PRMM) programme has spent a decade quietly decentralizing strategic communication education. By equipping regional scholars outside traditional elite networks, this provincial evolution directly addresses Sri Lanka’s critical digital analytics and crisis management gap, proving that cutting-edge communication transformation originates far beyond the capital’s boardrooms. 

In 2008, when my Head Professor, Chandrasiri Rajapaksha, asked me why I was attempting to create a new degree programme in Public Relations, the question carried more than academic curiosity.  It reflected deeper institutional uncertainty within Sri Lanka’s higher education system about whether Public Relations should be an independent field of study. At that time, PR was largely positioned as a subsidiary area within journalism, marketing, or general communication studies rather than a distinct discipline grounded in strategic management, ethics, and organizational communication theory.  

The challenge, therefore, was not simply curriculum but conceptual. It required establishing Public Relations as a legitimate academic field with its own intellectual foundations and professional relevance within the university system.  

What followed was a five-year process of academic design, negotiation, and institutional development. The initiative first materialized through a Diploma in Public and Media Relations, which was intended to bridge academic learning with professional communication practice. This was subsequently expanded into the Degree Programme in Public Relations and Media Management (PRMM) in 2014, marking a significant milestone in the formal recognition of PR as an academic discipline in Sri Lanka’s state university system. Alongside this, a Higher Diploma and a Postgraduate Diploma were introduced to create flexible academic progression pathways, particularly for working professionals and those without traditional Advanced Level qualifications. This structure made PR education more inclusive, applied, and professionally aligned.  

Today, PRMM has developed into a comprehensive academic ecosystem that integrates undergraduate, postgraduate, and professional education within a unified framework. As the programme marks its tenth anniversary, the Department of Mass Communication at the University of Kelaniya is preparing to host the National Public Relations Summit on June 18th, bringing together academics, policymakers, and industry practitioners to critically engage with the future of communication education in Sri Lanka.  

Control and Credibility

The evolution of Public Relations over the past century demonstrates a fundamental shift in how communication is understood and practiced. Early thinking by Ivy Ledbetter Lee in 1906 introduced a major ethical shift in corporate communication by asserting that “all our work is done in the open,” challenging secrecy-driven communication models and introducing transparency as a guiding principle in organizational communication.  

Edward Bernays, often recognized as a foundational figure in modern Public Relations, further developed the discipline in Crystallizing Public Opinion (1923), defining PR as the attempt “to engineer public support through information and persuasion.” While this reflects early twentieth-century thinking centered on influence, Bernays later revised his position by emphasizing Public Relations as a two-way communicative process between institutions and publics (1952), recognizing the importance of dialogue and mutual understanding.  

Rex Harlow (1976) provided a more structured definition, describing PR as a management function that builds “mutual understanding, acceptance, and cooperation between organizations and their publics.” This marked a clear theoretical shift from persuasion toward relationship building. In contemporary scholarship, Philip J. Kitchen further strengthens this view by positioning PR as a strategic management discipline where communication is central to organizational legitimacy, reputation, and long-term sustainability.  

Stakeholder Thinking

A major theoretical transformation in Public Relations came with James E. Grunig and Todd Hunt’s Excellence Theory (1984), which redefined effective communication as a process based on two-way symmetrical interaction. In this model, organizations and publics engage in ongoing dialogue rather than one-way messaging, enabling negotiation, adjustment, and mutual understanding.  

In parallel, R. Edward Freeman’s stakeholder theory (1984) expanded the scope of organizational communication by arguing that institutions must engage not only shareholders but also employees, communities, governments, and wider society. This broadened PR into a multidimensional system of relationship management, where communication becomes a tool for balancing diverse social expectations.  

Together, these frameworks reposition Public Relations as a discipline rooted in negotiation, dialogue, and relational governance rather than simple persuasion or message transmission.  

New Communication Environment

In the contemporary era, digital technologies and algorithm-driven platforms have significantly reshaped Public Relations practice. Scholars such as Manuel Castells and Zizi Papacharissi highlight how digital communication ecosystems intensify fragmentation, accelerate emotional polarization, and produce competing interpretations of truth.  

Within this environment, PR has increasingly become part of what is described as the attention economy, where visibility, engagement, and credibility are shaped by algorithmic systems and real-time audience interaction. Communication is no longer limited to message dissemination but involves sustaining attention and managing perception within highly competitive digital environments.  

Industry research such as the Edelman Trust Barometer (2000–2025) consistently confirms that trust has become the most important factor determining communication legitimacy across both corporate and political domains. In this context, transparency and credibility are increasingly valued more than visibility alone.  

Regional Dynamics

Across Asia, countries such as India and Singapore have rapidly adopted digital-first Public Relations strategies that integrate influencer engagement, corporate branding, and political communication into hybrid communication models. Major corporate groups such as Tata Group and Reliance Industries demonstrate how modern PR now operates across integrated systems combining traditional media relations with advanced digital reputation management.  

In Sri Lanka, Public Relations has developed across government institutions, banking systems, telecommunications, and corporate organizations. However, a clear gap persists between academic training and industry expectations, particularly in areas such as crisis communication, digital analytics, real-time media management, and strategic stakeholder engagement. As communication environments become more complex and technologically advanced, curriculum transformation has become an urgent necessity.  

Global Communication Change

The PRMM programme at the University of Kelaniya must be understood as more than an academic qualification. It represents an institutional response to the transformation of communication in the twenty-first century. By integrating classical foundations such as Lee, Bernays, and Harlow with strategic management perspectives from Grunig, Freeman, and Kitchen, and aligning them with contemporary digital communication realities, PRMM represents a hybrid model of academic knowledge and professional practice.  

The upcoming National Public Relations Summit reflects this integrative vision by focusing on curriculum development, corporate communication, political and state communication, and future evaluation frameworks. The central aim is not only academic revision but also ensuring that graduates are capable of functioning effectively in real-world communication environments from the beginning of their professional careers.  

From Persuasion to Trust

One of the most significant shifts in modern Public Relations is philosophical rather than technical. Communication is no longer primarily understood as persuasion, publicity, or image control. Instead, it is increasingly understood as a process of building relationships, establishing trust, ensuring ethical transparency, and achieving mutual understanding between organizations and publics.  

In contrast to early twentieth-century models of advertising, marketing, and propaganda-driven communication systems, contemporary PR emphasizes credibility over persuasion and dialogue over domination. As Anne Gregory notes, Public Relations is fundamentally about managing relationships and reputation rather than merely promoting messages. This marks a deeper ethical transformation in the practice of communication in modern society.  

From Self to Society

Public Relations begins at a deep human level. It originates in intrapersonal communication, where individuals develop self-awareness, emotional regulation, and reflective thinking. It then extends into interpersonal communication, where trust, honesty, and clarity shape relationships within families and communities. From there, it expands into organizational communication and ultimately into societal and global communication systems involving states, corporations, and digital platforms.  

In this broader sense, Public Relations is not only a professional discipline but also a framework for human wellbeing, cooperation, and social harmony. In a world increasingly shaped by misinformation, digital rivalry, and fragmented identities, PR provides a critical corrective principle: truthful communication, transparency, and mutual understanding are essential not only for institutional success but also for sustaining peaceful social coexistence.  

PRMM and the Future 

The PRMM journey represents far more than institutional development. It reflects a broader transformation in how communication is understood within contemporary society. From Ivy Lee’s early advocacy of transparency, to Bernays’ persuasion model, to Grunig’s symmetrical communication theory, and now to digital trust-based communication systems, Public Relations has evolved into a central discipline shaping modern organizational and social life.  

The PRMM initiative at the University of Kelaniya stands within this global intellectual tradition while responding to a pressing national need: aligning academic communication education with the realities of a rapidly changing digital and industrial environment. Ultimately, PRMM is not merely a degree programme. It represents an attempt to redefine communication education in Sri Lanka—from information to trust, from messaging to meaning, and from persuasion to mutual understanding.  

The article is prepared for the National Public Relations Summit 2026, to be held on June 18. The author Dr Manoj Jinadasa PhD in Digital Critical Media Studies, Newcastle, UK is a Senior Lecturer and Head, Department of Mass Communication, University of Kelaniya.