Document And Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Jun. 24, 2012	Jan. 31, 2013 Common Class A [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Common Class B [Member]
Entity Registrant Name	MEDIA GENERAL INC
Document Type	10-K
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			27,197,888	548,564
Entity Public Float		$ 89,755,000
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Central Index Key	0000216539
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY