{"id":588593,"date":"2026-04-16T22:50:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T22:50:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/588593\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T22:50:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T22:50:08","slug":"after-aims-collapse-arlington-based-radio-station-wera-seeks-a-second-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/588593\/","title":{"rendered":"After AIM\u2019s collapse, Arlington-based radio station WERA seeks a second life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two years after Arlington Independent Media\u2019s implosion<\/a>, the organization\u2019s FM radio station is seeking a second life with a focus on education, news and the arts.<\/p>\n

Despite AIM laying off its entire staff<\/a> in March 2024 and losing its entire broadcast studio<\/a> at a county auction following a blistering financial audit<\/a>, the organization\u2019s remaining legal and technical representatives have petitioned<\/a> the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to transfer the license to WERA 96.7.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re seeking to establish Radio Arlington, a new nonprofit \u201ccommitted to the principles of cultural diversity, community building, sustainability, and the creation of a more just and equitable world of creative expression and personal and social responsibility,\u201d according to articles of incorporation approved by the State Corporation Commission on March 23.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur aim is to produce and disseminate relevant programming while educating the public in the broadcast arts: training volunteers, creating learning experiences in multimedia, opening opportunities for community promotion and outreach,\u201d the articles state.<\/p>\n

AIM is seeking the FCC\u2019s permission to transfer use of its broadcasting tower, feedline and antenna to Radio Arlington in addition to its license. The new nonprofit proposes to broadcast the following.<\/p>\n

Debates, public affairs, independent news, and issues of concern to the community.
\nCultural programming featuring independent and grassroots voices.
\nFreeform music and audio expression, bolstering creative arts and independent music in the community.<\/p>\n

Per Radio Arlington\u2019s articles of incorporation, the nonprofit will have no members but will be managed by a board of directors. The document stipulates that \u201cno director shall have any right, title or interest in or to any property of the corporation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edward Schneider, the initial registered agent for Radio Arlington, declined to comment on this story.<\/p>\n

WERA hasn\u2019t broadcast fresh content since at least late 2023, when the local radio station switched to a continuous loop<\/a> of lo-fi beats. The station finally went dark<\/a> in July 2025.<\/p>\n

In a\u00a0final email<\/a> to AIM producers in April 2025, former Producers\u2019 Representative Jeff Hoffman had said that leaders were working to find another entity to assume control of the radio station.<\/p>\n

\u201cDue to AIM\u2019s financial challenges \u2014 no cash reserves, significant debt, and limited county and community support \u2014 [former AIM President Amanda MacKaye], Ted [Schneider], Don [Masters], and others have been working to identify an organization willing to take over WERA\u2019s FCC license,\u201d Hoffman wrote at the time. \u201cI don\u2019t have details on the status, timeline, or likelihood of a transfer, but discussions are ongoing, and nothing is imminent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Months of efforts to revive AIM<\/a> lost most of their momentum after an audit in February 2025 revealed substantial gaps and errors in how the nonprofit handled some $2 million in county-provided funds.<\/p>\n

Unpaid taxes and rent led the county to seize AIM\u2019s assets, auctioning off hundreds of professional-grade items \u2014 including everything from camcorders and MacBooks to lighting kits and desks \u2014 last summer. The county recouped about $59,000 but was owed much more.<\/p>\n

County Manager Mark Schwartz said in January<\/a> that staff had exhausted all options to settle up to half a million dollars in debts from the nonprofit. County Board member Maureen Coffey, who serves as co-chair of the Audit Committee, suggested there was no more money to be found.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey barely exist,\u201d she said of AIM. \u201cWe explored all options available to us, and this is where we are.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two years after Arlington Independent Media\u2019s implosion, the organization\u2019s FM radio station is seeking a second life with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":588594,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[39225,228,88,216,3,3813],"class_list":["post-588593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-arlington-independent-media","tag-arts","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-news","tag-radio"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588593"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588593\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/588594"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}