Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2017
Earnings Per Share, Diluted, by Common Class, Including Two Class Method [Line Items]
Net income from continuing operations	$ 92,512	$ 49,270	$ 147,699	$ 93,928
Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax	0	(241,699)	0	(222,458)
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests from discontinued operations	0	62,077	0	55,892
Net income (loss) attributable to TEGNA Inc.	$ 92,512	$ (130,352)	$ 147,699	$ (72,638)
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding - basic	216,342	215,501	216,309	215,404
Effect of dilutive securities:
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding - diluted (in shares)	216,515	217,812	216,753	217,691
Earnings from continuing operations per share - basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.43	$ 0.23	$ 0.68	$ 0.44
Earnings from discontinued operations per share - basic (in dollars per share)	0.00	(0.83)	0.00	(0.77)
Net income (loss) per share – basic (In dollars per share)	0.43	(0.60)	0.68	(0.33)
Earnings from continuing operations per share - diluted (in dollars per share)	0.43	0.23	0.68	0.43
Earnings from discontinued operations per share - diluted (in dollars per share)	0.00	(0.83)	0.00	(0.77)
Net income (loss) per share – diluted (In dollars per share)	$ 0.43	$ (0.60)	$ 0.68	$ (0.34)
Restricted stock units
Effect of dilutive securities:
Dilutive securities (in shares)	2	818	90	905
Performance share units
Effect of dilutive securities:
Dilutive securities (in shares)	0	761	108	651
Stock options
Effect of dilutive securities:
Dilutive securities (in shares)	171	732	246	731