Franz Josef Wagner (7 August 1943 – 7 October 2025) was a German author and journalist. He was editor-in-chief of the magazineBunte and later of the tabloidB.Z., launchedElle magazine's German edition, and wrote a number of books, one of which was adapted for television.
Wagner grew up inRegensburg. His father was a teacher. After finishing his schooling, Wagner worked for theNürnberger Zeitung [de], one of Germany's oldestdaily newspapers.[1] In the early 1960s he worked as a journalist forBild inMunich. In 1966 Wagner joined theAxel Springer media company inHamburg. During this stint at Axel Springer, Wagner was for a time awar correspondent. In 1988, Wagner moved toHubert Burda Media in Munich.[2] At Hubert Burda Media he served as editor-in-chief of the magazineBunte. Wagner, together with journalistGünter Prinz [de], started the German edition ofElle magazine in 1988, and the magazineSuperillu in 1990. In 1991 Wagner started the short-lived tabloidSuper! [de].[3][4] In July 1998 Wagner returned to Axel Springer, becoming editor-in-chief of the tabloidB.Z.[5][6] He was replaced as editor-in-chief in 2000, after his paper had published a denigrating article aboutFranziska van Almsick.[7][8][9][10] From early 2001 until his death, Wagner had a column,Post von Wagner, forBild, the largest German tabloid. This column appeared five times a week, from Monday to Friday.[11] Wagner authored eight books. His last book, an autobiography, was published in 2010.
He was married, had one daughter and lived inBerlin-Charlottenburg.[12] Wagner died on 7 October 2025, at the age of 82.[13][14]
Sein Vorgänger Franz Josef Wagner hatte indes am Dienstag seinen ersten Auftrag als Chefkolumnist des Axel Springer Verlages zu erfüllen. Er schreibt ab heute täglich in "Bild" einen Brief. Die Kolumne mit dem Titel "Post von Wagner" auf Seite 2 der heutigen Ausgabe ist an Bundeskanzler Gerhard Schröder adressiert.
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