Document and Entity Information Document (USD $)	6 Months Ended
	Mar. 25, 2012	Mar. 27, 2011
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	Lee Enterprises, Inc.
Entity Central Index Key	0000058361
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--09-30
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 25, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock Shares Outstanding	51,701,241
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Public Float		$ 114,069,000