Capital Stock, Stock Awards, and Stock Options (Earnings Per Share) (Details 5) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
		Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Schedule of Earnings Per Share, Basic and Diluted, Including Two Class Method [Line Items]
Income (loss) from continuing operations attributable to Graham Holdings Company common stockholders						$ 51,169	$ (231,222)	$ 39,280	$ (2,683)	$ 168,590	$ (143,456)	$ 765,139
Less: Dividends paid–common stock outstanding and unvested restricted shares										(27,325)	(53,090)	(67,267)
Undistributed earnings (losses)										$ 141,265	$ (196,546)	$ 697,872
Percent allocated to common stockholders (1)	[1]									98.79%	100.00%	97.98%
Undistributed earnings (losses) allocated to common stockholders										$ 139,562	$ (196,546)	$ 683,780
Add: Dividends paid–common stock outstanding										26,962	52,050	66,012
Numerator for basic earnings (loss) per share										166,524	(144,496)	749,792
Add: Additional undistributed earnings due to dilutive stock options										9	0	64
Numerator for diluted earnings (loss) per share										$ 166,533	$ (144,496)	$ 749,856
Denominator for basic earnings (loss) per share (shares)		5,527	5,544	5,544	5,623	5,746	5,738	5,720	5,704	5,559	5,727	6,470
Denominator for diluted earnings (loss) per share (shares)										5,589	5,727	6,497
Income Per Share From Continuing Operations To Common Stockholders [Abstract]
Basic income (loss) per common share from continuing operations in dollars per share						$ 8.78	$ (40.32)	$ 6.74	$ (0.58)	$ 29.95	$ (25.23)	$ 115.88
Diluted income (loss) per common share from continuing operations in dollars per share						$ 8.72	$ (40.32)	$ 6.71	$ (0.58)	$ 29.80	$ (25.23)	$ 115.40
Employee Stock Option [Member]
Schedule of Earnings Per Share, Basic and Diluted, Including Two Class Method [Line Items]
Add: Effect of dilutive stock options (shares)										30	0	27

[1] Percent of undistributed losses allocated to common stockholders is 100% in 2015 as participating securities are not contractually obligated to share in losses.