Linda Polach

Born in Chicago, Illinois Polach is the daughter of Ella Jarolim and Jerry Adam Polach. Her mother grew up in rural Hoxeyville, Michigan. Her father was a US Post Office employee and bank employee from Chicago. He served in the US Army during World War II and spent 26 months as a prisoner of war*^[1] after being captured in North Africa. Polach is the product of a Catholic education. She attended St. Adrian Elementary School and Maria High School (Chicago, Illinois). She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Procopius College (now Benedictine University) in Lisle, Illinois and a master's degree in Journalism from Boston University.

Polach began a career as a teacher at her alma mater Maria High after graduation from St. Procopius. But the lure of journalism that Polach credits to her father's avid newspaper reading and appetite for politics caused her to change careers. As a journalism grad student she took an internship at WCVB-TV and was eventually hired by the station.

She took on assignments as a news producer, executive producer, director of special projects, planning editor during her 29 years with the American Broadcasting Company affiliate station in Boston. Polach produced WCVB-TV's annual live coverage of the Boston Marathon for more than two decades^[2] and in her various capacities won several awards including Emmy Awards for coverage of 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.^[3]

• ^[4] In 2007 Polach joined WGBH-TV as executive producer of Greater Boston with Emily Rooney and Beat the Press^[5]