Document and Entity Information Document (USD $)	6 Months Ended
	Mar. 29, 2015	Apr. 30, 2015	Mar. 30, 2014
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	Lee Enterprises, Inc.
Entity Central Index Key	0000058361
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--09-27
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 29, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		54,535,122
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Public Float			$ 62,832,000