WERA-LP
radio station in Arlington, Virginia
WERA-LP is a community radio-formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Arlington, Virginia, serving Arlington and Alexandria in Virginia and Washington, D.C. WERA-LP is owned and operated by Radio Arlington.
History
Arlington Independent Media (AIM) was founded in 1982, and received funding from the Arlington County government to operate its public-access television channels since that time. It also provided studio space, equipment, and training for local residents interested in audio and video production.
WERA-LP went on the air at 6 p.m. on December 6, 2015. The station carried free-form programming typical of college and community radio, staffed by volunteer disc jockeys who played what they wished. Members of Arlington Independent Media were allowed to host and create their own shows, live or recorded, provided they took the appropriate classes and follow certain guidelines.
Arlington Independent Media financial crisis and silence
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 public, educational, and government access (PEG) funds for capital expenses (also derived from a portion of cable-subscription taxes), and a studio in Clarendon provided for free by Comcast. It also received support grants directly from the county government. In 2016, the County renegotiated the franchise agreement with Comcast, removing the dedicated funding, and additionally required AIM to begin paying rent for its studio.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “WERA-LP” as radio station in Arlington, Virginia. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as radio station in Arlington, Virginia. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q22026244. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1982, 2015, 2018 and 2016.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “WERA-LP”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow WERA-LP primary sources, WERA-LP archive and WERA-LP research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “WERA-LP”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “WERA-LP” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.