WASHINGTON — It is not every day you land your dream job, and it isn't all that common to have a job dedicated to the impact of an artist you admire. But for one Howard University alum, that's exactly how her life is unfolding.
At the end of 2023, it was announced that Gannett had hired two people in roles unlike any before, and they even went viral. One of those positions was landed by Caché McClay. The 28-year-old, from Cleveland, Ohio, became the company's inaugural Beyoncé reporter.
McClay says when she heard of the role she felt it was meant for her. She even mentioned it in her submission video, feeling the need to double down on her passion for the position.
During the application process she didn't tell anyone she was applying, though, so that she wouldn't jinx the opportunity. After prayer and patience, she said, the surreal opportunity with USA Today and The Tennessean was hers.
But what exactly does a Beyoncé reporter do? After six months in the role, WUSA9 checked in on McClay, who says every day is completely different. The reporter said she came into the role at a great time -- right on the heels of Beyoncé's highly-acclaimed Renaissance film, as well as ahead of her latest album, "Cowboy Carter."
Since starting, she has traveled to Queen Bey's hometown of Houston to better understand her ties to the community. This included talking to the owners of Frenchie's restaurant -- a location she shouted out in her film -- and not just talking about her as an artist but her economic impact to the location.
When she landed the role, McClay moved her life to Nashville meaning she can cover Beyoncé's newest country album in a location that resonates with the sound.
"I'm going to the Grand Ole Opry," McClay said. "I'm talking to Black female country artists who are impacted by this, who have been in this industry for such a long time and hearing their voices on this. So I plunged right into the country music scene."
The album, which McClay has described as groundbreaking, has propelled conversations in not the just country music lane, but the entire industry.
"Beyoncé was very deliberate and intentional with this album of highlighting country music legends and pioneers and also Black artists in this industry and country music's invisible and Black roots," the reporter said.
"Cowboy Carter" features prominent voices from the present and the past including Linda Martell, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Miley Cyrus, Post Malone and others.
"Linda Martell was considered the first prominent Black woman in country music, but she didn't get all the flowers she deserves," McClay said. "So Beyoncé was very intentional about including her on this album, paying homage to her, but also present day emerging Black country artists who have been making strides in this but have been struggling for mainstream success or working so hard for it... for a long time."
Shaboozey, Willie Jones, Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts are some of those names.
Music, hometown pride and economic impacts are just grazing the surface of the story topics around Beyoncé. She is also a businesswoman who recently launched Cécred, a hair care line, which has also invoked conversation about Black hair.
But before attaining her dream job, McClay was a student at Howard University looking to make her mark. She attended from 2013 to 2017, majoring in broadcast journalism.
"It was one of the best decisions of my life," McClay said, lighting up with each word. "Howard absolutely prepared me for this role. It prepared me for this career of being the journalist."
She said that the school's positioning in the nation's capital helped to set her up with so many great opportunities, like going to the White House Correspondents' Association in 2017. One of the highlights also included one of her professors who she said nurtured her and continues to mentor her.
Beyoncé reporter Caché McClay with her mentor Jennifer Thomas
Jennifer Thomas, associate professor and journalism sequence coordinator for Howard's Department of Media, Journalism and Film, describes McClay as being one of those students who was really committed to her craft. When McClay came to her with an interest in entertainment journalism she made a suggestion of focusing on journalism as a whole to start -- and she agreed.
"That led to great, solid news stories, a National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) first place award, covering the White House, and other opportunities," Professor Thomas said.
And even after graduating, McClay continued to stay in touch, and just like she described Beyoncé's work, Professor Thomas said she was intentional about keeping that line of communication. She continued to receive feedback and provide updates to her mentor, including her latest exciting news.
"God's timing is perfect and her work as a journalist really prepared her to take on this unique opportunity to serve as the first-ever Beyoncé reporter," Thomas said. "When she shared about having to move to Nashville, we talked about how it was one of the music capitals of the country and I shared how beautiful and modern the city was."
As she continues to walk through life, Thomas says she hopes McClay continues to trust her gut as it will not lead her astray.
"Cache reminds me of myself when I was a college student at Howard -- full of optimism and excitement for the profession," the professor said. "She has a great 'nose for news' and pays attention to details. She has a maturity beyond her years. I often use the hashtag #proudprofessor whenever I think about her!"
McClay, in agreement with her professor's words of wisdom, says starting in hard news helped her learn so much that has made her stronger through challenges. As many hope to see themselves following in her footsteps, she says, "I would say to dream big and to never give up. I think never in a million years did I expect this to be a role, but here I am, and I'm so grateful for it." She continued by saying there is purpose in pain, and it has helped her to never give up.
And when it comes to right now, she wants to continue to merge her admiration and appreciation for Beyoncé with her journalism skills.
"I mean, of course it would be a dream one day to speak to Beyoncé. I have high hopes," McClay said determination filling her vocal chords. "I know that she isn't, you know, keen to doing interviews, but I do have high hopes and I'm ambitious about it and I think I just want to continue to cover her impact. I just want to continue to make strides in this new role. It's new for me, it's new for Beyoncé's team, it's new for my job, and yeah, I just want to keep going and continue to highlight her impact and hopefully that leads to an interview with her one day."
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