Arlington Independent Media (AIM) was founded in 1982, and has received funding from the Arlington County government to operate its public-access television channels since that time. It also provides studio space, equipment, and training for local residents interested in audio and video production.[7]
WERA-LP went on the air in December 2015. The station carried freeform programming typical of college and community radio, staffed by volunteer disc jockeys who played what they wished.[6] Members of Arlington Independent Media are allowed to host and create their own shows, live or recorded, provided they have taken the appropriate classes and follow certain guidelines.[8]
Until 2018, AIM's agreement with the county called for it to receive one percent of revenue from taxes charged on cable subscriptions to fund operating expenses, eligibility to apply for government educational-support funds for capital expenses (also a portion of cable-subscription taxes), and a studio in Clarendon provided for free by Comcast. That year, a renegotiated franchise agreement with Comcast removed the dedicated funding from tax revenue and additionally required AIM to begin paying rent for its studio. Community protests led to a lessening of proposed public funding cuts and the county providing a small secondary studio space for audio production. However, the need to compete with the municipal cable channel and fiber-optic network for one funding pool, combined with dwindling cable subscriptions reducing that funding, has led to AIM since consistently running an operational deficit.[9]
In December 2023, WERA-LP began playing a loop of lofi hip-hop music because its studio-transmitter link failed. The station began efforts to move to the building housing its transmitter in Court House, but was once again held up by dependence on financial support from the county.[10][11] In March 2024, amid accusations that AIM was improperly spending public funding on payroll and office space, Arlington County began an audit of its finances. With its access to county funds cut off, AIM was essentially forced to suspend operations and laid off its entire paid staff.[12]
WERA-LP's signal and stream were concurrently shut off on the afternoon of March 22, 2024. However, its request for special temporary authority from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to go silent was backdated to March 20; the station thus has until March 21, 2025 at 12:01 a.m. to resume broadcasting, or its license will be forfeited pursuant to the Telecommunications Act of 1996.[13]
