Document and Entity Information	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012	Jul. 30, 2012 Class A Common Stock [Member]	Jul. 30, 2012 Class B Common Stock [Member]	Jul. 30, 2012 Total Common Stock [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Trading Symbol	MSO
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		41,025,584	25,984,625	67,010,209