Galadzhun Z. Communication defamation as a factor of social responsibility of mass media.

Different functional models of the mass-media reflect different systems of social control by which the relations between individuals and public institutions are regulated. Under different circumstances the mass media faces new challenges, where the universality of ethical standards is being put on trial. In Ukraine the norms of the self-regulation, the rules of the journalism ethics and the responsibility for one's own actions are stated in the Codes of the Journalism Professional Ethics. Journalism ethics is becoming a subject of the academic discourse, practical activities and professional trainings. The correct understanding and interpretation of the nature of defamation is not only of theoretical but also of practical importance, since on its basis we make a distinction between the tort of defamation as dissemination in mass media of the factual untrue information that defames a person and discredits one's reputation on the one hand, and spreading of ideas and thoughts, prevalent in the mass media in order to implement one's constitutional rights to freedom speech on the other hand. The phenomenon of the communication defamation places the social responsibility of the journalists and mass media on the deeply subconscious layer.