Elmar Wagner retires: He shaped generations of sports journalists

One phenomenon accompanied Elmar Wagner throughout his journalistic career: wherever he was, there was a spirit of optimism. He played a part in this because he was constantly on the lookout for new things, pulling others along, and motivating them.

When Wagner joined the NZZ sports department in 1991, it was increasingly driven by the demand to offer linguistically sophisticated journalism. He was predestined for this; his university thesis, written the previous year, was entitled "The Development of Metaphor in Sports Reporting." Wagner also catered to those who hadn't waited for the stylistic pirouettes of the fine writers of that era, but who, as always, primarily wanted competent information from NZZ sports. He delved into complex and sensitive topics and made a name for himself, particularly in cycling and skiing. Later, he also distinguished himself through research on FIFA and as an expert in sports he himself practiced with passion: triathlon and cross-country skiing.

From 1998 to 2001, Wagner was sports editor at the news magazine "Facts," which shook up the Swiss media scene with its unconventional approach. He then joined the founding team of "NZZ am Sonntag," which also set out to rethink journalism. In 2008, he took over as head of the combined sports section for the weekday and Sunday editions. He is now retiring, after seventeen years in the position, during which there was only one thing he never experienced: stagnation.

Those who worked under Wagner benefited from an inspiring atmosphere. He communicated his expectations clearly and decisively, but at the same time gave editors freedom and defended them when difficulties arose. Wagner repeatedly enabled career changers to switch to sports journalism. The members of his teams were given the opportunity to develop their skills.

This was especially true at the Olympic Games and World Championships. At the beginning of 2014, a year packed with highlights, Wagner told an industry magazine: "I'm looking forward to it, because we in the sports department are always in particularly good shape at major events." This was especially true for him, as he supported his colleagues on-site from Zurich during the events. Although he enjoyed writing himself, he spent most of his professional life coaching other writers.

For around twenty years, Wagner taught stylistics courses to aspiring sports journalists in Magglingen. Maintaining high linguistic standards was a central concern for him: Anyone who wrote "Kapitän" instead of "Captain" or "das Achtelfinale" instead of "der Achtelfinal" in the NZZ newspaper could expect a reprimand.

In conflict situations, Wagner had a keen sense of how far he needed to go to make his voice heard without permanently damaging an interpersonal relationship. He even treated an endurance athlete, whose alleged doping he meticulously substantiated with circumstantial evidence in an article, with disarming friendliness. And the athlete greeted him warmly at a later meeting, as if nothing had ever happened.

Although he had lived through the days when the NZZ newspaper paid for Tour de France reporters like himself to have a chauffeur, Wagner never succumbed to the journalistic habit of becoming cynical over the years as budgets tightened. Staying at the cutting edge was second nature to him: He was a podcast fan when younger colleagues still laughed at the medium, and he knew every relevant Netflix series and every helpful endurance sports gadget. Thanks in part to his never-ending curiosity, Wagner influenced entire generations of sports journalists.