In a Nov. 4 press release, Big City Radio Inc., owner and operator of WDEK in DeKalb, announced that it will conduct an auction of all of its radio stations.

Scott Wert, general manager of Big City Radio, said they are in the process of taking bids on three various radio stations, including WDEK, but do not have definite plans on selling WDEK.

WDEK is part of a three station, simultaneous broadcast with WKIE and WKIF called Energy 92.5 and 92.7, which plays dance music.

Dave Bavido, general sales manager of B96 in DeKalb and former program director at WDEK, said he has heard nothing about any local interest in buying WDEK back from Big City Radio Inc.

“WDEK was locally owned by a family,” Bavido said.

WDEK was owned and operated from the 1960s up until 1999 by Jerome Cerny and the Cerny family.

Before being sold to Big City Radio, Bavido said WDEK played underground rock in the ’70s and started playing Top 40 hits in the ’80s.

Bavido added that if he was in Cerny’s situation at the time, he would have done the same thing, referring to Cerny selling the station.

“I believe Big City Radio told people they were going to keep things the same,” Bavido said. He added that apparently Big City Radio had found a better way of running things.

Mark Cerny, who currently owns Record Revolution in DeKalb, is the son of Jerome Cerny.

“My father was 85 years old at the time,” Mark Cerny said. “I believe that my father sold out at the right time.”

Mark thought the time was right because of the good condition the market was in and the high price Big City Radio was able to offer.