Derrick “Li’l D” Greene loved listening to the radio when he was a young boy.

When he was 12, he was given two turntables. From then on, he was a disc jockey.

His nickname also stems from childhood.

“We had another Derrick in the family, a cousin, who was older and bigger,” Greene said. “So I became ‘Li’l D.’

“It stuck.”

Greene arrived in Columbus 4½ years ago as a disc jokey. In August he became the operations manager for the Clear Channel radio stations in Columbus.

We spoke to Greene about his job and his plans for the stations last week.

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

How did you get started in the radio business?

I’ve always been a disc jockey. I used to DJ local high school parties and later when I was in college, college parties.

When did you get your first radio job?

My first radio job was in 1996. I started working part-time. I was in college doing weekends.

Did you have a friend who got you the job?

Chris Coleman was my mentor. He was the assistant program director. When he first met me, he told me I’d be a great radio personality.

Did you start at an urban music station?

Yes, but I’ve worked at a Top 40 station, sports talk station and a rhythmic station.

What’s rhythmic?

It’s a mix between urban and Top 40.

What exactly does an operations manager do?

I handle all aspects of the programming department. I oversee all the staff. In other words, I have to keep all the animals on the farm. Or to make sure the mission of each station is followed.

How many radio stations are you responsible for?

Eight stations in Columbus and five stations in Albany, Ga. That is a wide array of formats from country to rock to news talk to urban.

How long have you been with Clear Channel?

Six years.

You must like the company.

I love radio. I’m married to radio, but there’s a possibility that I will divorce radio and marry my girlfriend. She (Josina Pittman) works for (Columbus mayor) Teresa Tomlinson.

Have you made yourself at home in Columbus?

I’ve acclimated myself. I love Columbus and contrary to popular belief, I’m here to stay. We have a very active cluster of radio stations. We do a lot of community service events. We’re everywhere.

Can you name all your stations in Columbus?

Yes. They are News Talk 540 -- WDAK-AM; Rock 103 (WVRK-FM); South 106.1 (WSTH-FM); Sunny 100 (WGSY-FM); Southern Gospel 1270 (WSHE-AM); Magic 101.3 (WAGH-FM); 98.3 The Beat (WBFA-FM) and Fox Sports News 1460 (WHAL-AM0.

Good job.

Thank you.

What is the Beat?

It’s the hip-hop station and is aimed at the 18-49-age group. We have Ricky Smiley in the morning and I’m still on the air at 3 p.m. I have the No. 1 afternoon show in the city. The most popular thing is the Topic of the Day at 3 p.m. It’s an interactive radio show where the listeners submit the topic they want to discuss on Facebook. Then the listeners comment on Facebook or Twitter or email or phone call.

Does that mean you have a strong presence on social media sites?

We have 5,000 people on my Facebook page and that’s my personal limit. We have 3,000 on the stations’ Facebook page. We have 10,000 VIP guests on the stations’ Facebook page. I don’t know how many Twitter followers we have, but I know it’s more than 1,000. I’ll tweet during the day, too. We respond to every listener. We feel we have a connection with everyone on social media.

Do you have someone on staff who oversees your social media sites?

We have several people manage our social media sites and websites, too.

So that’s become important to your stations?

It’s a line of communication between our listeners and myself. It makes everything personal. People don’t have to call to communicate with me.

What are your future plans?

I would like to rebuild my country and rock stations. I’d like to have the No. 1 25- to-54-year-old demographics in the city. I would like to rebuild my AC (adult contemporary) station (Sunny 100). I’m focused on doing radio differently. I want to do something Columbus has never witnessed before. So buckle up your chin straps ... I’m about to take you on a ride.

Back in the 1970s-’80s, radio personalities were huge. Where are the DJs now?

We’ve got some up-and-coming radio personalities like myself. The economy changed and the accessibility of music changed. There’s satellite radio and the iPods. The internet changed how listeners got their music. Even most cable companies have music.

And then some local DJs were replaced by syndicated shows, right?

This is the wave of radio. There’s John Tesh and John Boy and Billy and Ricky Smiley. But radio is still the No. 1 medium in any car. Radio is tops as far as the medium people want to listen to in the car. But I know there’s different competition out there and some of the local celebrity jocks were replaced.

Local radio stations used to bring big acts to Columbus. What happened?

We’re looking at bringing that back. I’d love to do more country acts and we need some rock bands here. I have to build an audience.

Have things changed since you’ve been here?

Absolutely. All you have to do is drive down Macon Road. The Columbus Public Library was here, but the school board building was not. .. The Wells Fargo strip is new, and so is the CVS strip. Publix is going to be huge. It’s like they went in and built a new city on a stretch of property. In a three-year span, they transformed the whole area. It shows growth and I’d like to grow my radio stations like that. And it wasn’t growth in the north, though that’s been big. It’s growth in Midtown.

What’s your typical day like?

I come in at 8 a.m. and I’m usually working until 8 or 10 p.m., sometimes here (at the office) and sometimes at the house. I’m hosting different events at night. Sleep is sometimes hard to come by. But there’s never a dull moment.