Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	May 04, 2012 Class A Common Stock	May 04, 2012 Class B Common Stock	May 04, 2012 Class C Common Stock	May 04, 2012 Class D Common Stock
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	ROIA
Entity Registrant Name	RADIO ONE, INC.
Entity Central Index Key	0001041657
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		2,731,860	2,861,843	3,121,048	41,409,667