Schedule I - Condensed Financial Information of the Registrant - Condensed Statement of Comprehensive Income (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ 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
Condensed Income Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Operating revenues	$ 365,950	$ 321,736	$ 320,523	$ 296,734	$ 216,710	$ 160,224	$ 154,111	$ 143,918
Operating expenses									$ 1,222,949	$ 559,859	$ 236,085
Operating income (loss)	54,937	(30,442)	36,852	20,647	38,632	35,181	22,037	19,254	81,994	115,104	33,827
Other (expense) income:
Intercompany income and (expenses)									0	0
Total other income (expense), net									0	0
Loss before taxes and equity in income (loss) from operations of consolidated subsidiaries									(35,041)	108,973	16,679
(Benefit from) provision for income taxes									(4,688)	(52,453)	(12,325)
Equity in income (loss ) from operations of consolidated subsidiaries									0	0
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
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax									5,221	(42,113)	6,655
Total comprehensive income (loss) attributable to Media General									$ (34,238)	$ 11,393	$ 12,795
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
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
Parent Company [Member]
Condensed Income Statements, Captions [Line Items]
Operating revenues									$ 0	$ 0
Operating expenses									0	0
Operating income (loss)									0	0
Other (expense) income:
Intercompany income and (expenses)									0	(3)
Total other income (expense), net									0	(3)
Loss before taxes and equity in income (loss) from operations of consolidated subsidiaries									0	(3)
(Benefit from) provision for income taxes									0	0
Net loss from continuing operations									0	(3)
Equity in income (loss ) from operations of consolidated subsidiaries									(39,459)	53,509
Net income (loss) attributable to Media General									(39,459)	53,506
Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax									5,221	(42,113)
Total comprehensive income (loss) attributable to Media General									$ (34,238)	$ 11,393
Net earnings (loss) per common share (basic) (in dollars per share)									$ (0.31)	$ 0.59
Net earnings (loss) per common share (diluted) (in dollars per share)									$ (0.31)	$ 0.58