Document And Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 25, 2012	Apr. 27, 2012 Common Class A [Member]	Apr. 27, 2012 Common Class B [Member]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 25, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	mni
Entity Registrant Name	MCCLATCHY CO
Entity Central Index Key	0001056087
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-25
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		60,938,355	24,800,962