Werner was born in Gent, Belgium in 1965. He studied theology and journalism (Masters in 1991) in Fribourg, Switzerland. Since 1984 he has been working as a journalist for Swiss newspapers and news agencies. From 2003 to 2007 he was Editor-in-Chief of the largest Swiss newspaper, the tabloid BLICK. With the Art Director Nata Rampazzo he relaunched the Swiss news magazine L’Hebdo. Since 2008 he has been teaching the Master of Arts in Journalism course part-time at the University of Neuchâtel. From 2008 to 2013 he worked on and relaunched the multimedia newsroom (print, TV, radio, online) for the largest Swiss regional newspaper group AZ Medien in Aarau. In March 2013 he was appointed Editor-in-Chief of TeleBerne, the regional news TV station of the Swiss capital.