Document And Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Mar. 08, 2018	Jun. 30, 2017
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Entity Registrant Name	SALEM MEDIA GROUP, INC. /DE/
Entity Central Index Key	0001050606
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Public Float			$ 78,674,071
Trading Symbol	SALM
Common Class A [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		20,615,426
Common Class B [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		5,553,696