Guidelines on the use of Minority Languages in the Broadcast Media the content and orientation of programming should be independent and should include persons belonging to national minorities serving in their independent capacity”. 7) In Recommendation No. R (96) 10 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to Members States on the Guarantee of the Independence of Public Service Broadcasting, the role of public service broadcasting is underlined “as an essential factor of pluralistic communication which is accessible to everyone at both national and regional levels, through the provision of a basic comprehensive programme service comprising information, education, culture and entertainment”. The role of public service broadcasting in ensuring programming of quality and balance has been recognized by the European Court of Human Rights in, e.g., the Lentia Case (para. 33). The European Language Charter explicitly contemplates in Article 11(1) broadcasters carrying out “a public service mission” to address the needs of users of minority languages. The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers Recommendation Rec (2003) 9 to Member States on Measures to Promote the Democratic and Social Contribution of Digital Broadcasting stresses that the role of public service broadcasters in a democratic society is to support “the values underlying the political, legal and social structures of democratic societies, and in particular respect for human rights, culture and political pluralism”. According to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe “while public service broadcasters have a special commitment to promote a culture of tolerance and understanding, the broadcasting media as a whole are a potent force for creating an atmosphere in which intolerance can be challenged” (Appendix to Recommendation No. R (97) 21 to Member States on The Media and the Promotion of a Culture of Tolerance, item 5). In Recommendation No. R (99) 14 to Member States on Universal Community Service Concerning New Communication and Information Services, the Committee of Ministers points to the synergetic effects of co-operation between public authorities and the private sector for the benefit of users of new communication and information services. 8) The possibility for persons belonging to minorities to establish and maintain broadcast media in their own language is guaranteed by Article 9(3) of the Framework Convention. Article 11 of the European Language Charter specifies options which States may pursue in order to realize such possibilities for linguistic minorities. 19