Document And Entity Information	9 Months Ended
Sep. 25, 2011	Oct. 30, 2011 Class A Common Stock [Member]	Oct. 30, 2011 Class B Common Stock [Member]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 25, 2011
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	MEG
Entity Registrant Name	MEDIA GENERAL INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000216539
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-25
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		22,596,392	548,564

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