SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - Property thru Debt (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 28, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 27, 2015 USD ($) item	Dec. 28, 2014 USD ($) item	Dec. 29, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 30, 2012 USD ($)
Depreciation
Property, plant and equipment, gross	$ 1,120,795	$ 1,073,519	$ 1,120,795
Less accumulated depreciation	(716,557)	(709,300)	(716,557)
Property, plant and equipment, net	404,238	364,219	404,238
Depreciation expense		53,200	60,700	$ 64,400
Accelerated depreciation incurred		10,300	$ 13,500
Number of newspapers impaired | item			1
Impairment charge of assets held for sale		0
Segment reporting
Number of operating segments | item			2
Goodwill and intangible impairment
Goodwill impairment charge		290,941	$ 0	0	$ 0
Impairment charge of newspaper masthead	5,200	$ 13,907	5,203	0
Impairment of long-lived assets subject to amortization			0	$ 0	$ 0
Stock-based compensation
Number of stock-based compensation plans | item		2
Long-term debt fair value disclosure
Estimated fair value of long-term debt	994,800	$ 729,800	994,800
Carrying value of long-term debt	994,812	905,425	994,812
Land
Depreciation
Property, plant and equipment, gross	89,083	85,721	89,083
Buildings and improvements
Depreciation
Property, plant and equipment, gross	337,727	$ 332,502	337,727
Buildings and improvements | Minimum
Depreciation
Estimated Useful Lives		5 years
Buildings and improvements | Maximum
Depreciation
Estimated Useful Lives		60 years
Equipment
Depreciation
Property, plant and equipment, gross	691,289	$ 648,206	691,289
Equipment | Minimum
Depreciation
Estimated Useful Lives		2 years
Equipment | Maximum
Depreciation
Estimated Useful Lives		25 years
Construction in process
Depreciation
Property, plant and equipment, gross	$ 2,696	$ 7,090	$ 2,696
Presses | Minimum
Depreciation
Estimated Useful Lives		9 years
Presses | Maximum
Depreciation
Estimated Useful Lives		25 years
Other Machinery and Equipment [Member] | Minimum
Depreciation
Estimated Useful Lives		2 years
Other Machinery and Equipment [Member] | Maximum
Depreciation
Estimated Useful Lives		15 years