Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Net income (loss) attributable to Media General	$ 14,832	$ (48,493)	$ 1,635	$ (7,433)	$ 27,940	$ 13,395	$ 6,786	$ 5,385	$ (39,459)	$ 53,506	$ 6,140
Undistributed earnings attributable to participating securities									0	(339)	(13)
Basic EPS
Income available to common stockholders (basic)									$ (39,459)	$ 53,167	$ 6,127
Income available to common stockholders (basic) (in shares)									128,639	89,912	53,337
Net earnings (loss) per common share (basic) (in dollars per share)	$ 0.13	$ (0.38)	$ 0.01	$ (0.06)	$ 0.29	$ 0.15	$ 0.08	$ 0.06	$ (0.31)	$ 0.59	$ 0.11
Incremental Weighted Average Shares Attributable to Dilutive Effect [Abstract]
Effect of dilutive securities: warrants and other (in shares)									0	1,140	10,764
Diluted EPS
Income available to common stockholders (diluted)									$ (39,459)	$ 53,167	$ 6,127
Income available to common stockholders (diluted) (in shares)									128,639	91,052	64,101
Net earnings (loss) per common share (diluted) (in dollars per share)	$ 0.12	$ (0.38)	$ 0.01	$ (0.06)	$ 0.29	$ 0.15	$ 0.08	$ 0.06	$ (0.31)	$ 0.58	$ 0.10
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share (in shares)									1,600	400