Document And Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Oct. 31, 2013 Common Class A [Member]	Oct. 31, 2013 Common Class B [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	MEDIA GENERAL INC
Document Type	10-Q
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		27,632,216	548,564
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	Sep. 30, 2013
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3