Document and Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 29, 2019	Mar. 25, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 29, 2019
Entity Registrant Name	McClatchy Company
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Interactive Data Current	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer
Entity Public Float			$ 17.1
Entity Small Business	true
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Shell Company	false
Entity Central Index Key	0001056087
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-29
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2019
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Amendment Flag	false
Common Class A
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		5,506,185
Common Class B
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		2,428,191