Document And Entity Information (USD $) In Millions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 25, 2011	Jun. 24, 2011	Feb. 28, 2012 Common Class A [Member]	Feb. 28, 2012 Common Class B [Member]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 25, 2011
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	mni
Entity Registrant Name	MCCLATCHY CO
Entity Central Index Key	0001056087
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-25
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			60,607,179	24,800,962
Entity Public Float		$ 171.6