Document and Entity Information Document (USD $)	6 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Apr. 30, 2013	Mar. 25, 2012
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	Lee Enterprises, Inc.
Entity Central Index Key	0000058361
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--09-29
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2013
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		52,296,241
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Public Float			$ 57,507,000