This chapter examines the extent to which public service media can constitute a countermeasure to ongoing developments in the media market, media regulation, and journalism professionalism, some of which threaten the ideal role of the media in a democracy. Within the concept of a media ecology and with respect to the overarching dimensions of the Media for Democracy Monitor (MDM) project – Freedom / Information, Equality / Interest Mediation, and Control / Watchdog – we ask whether public service media make a difference for democracy. The findings are related to the question of whether strong public service media have an influence on the performance of other media. We consider this question – if the media sector is characterised by convergence or divergence – and compare countries with robust public service media with countries that have traditionally weak public service media. From this, we conclude that public service media are relevant for democracy due to their performance and their impact on the general media ecology.