Document And Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	May 01, 2012 Class A Common Stock [Member]	May 01, 2012 Class B Common Stock [Member]	May 01, 2012 Total Common Stock [Member]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Entity Registrant Name	MARTHA STEWART LIVING OMNIMEDIA INC
Entity Central Index Key	0001091801
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		40,933,941	25,984,625	66,918,566