Document and Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2018	Nov. 02, 2018
Entity Registrant Name	MCCLATCHY CO
Entity Central Index Key	0001056087
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2018
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-30
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Common Class A
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		5,380,650
Common Class B
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		2,428,191