Document and Entity Information Document - USD ($)	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2018	Jan. 31, 2019	Mar. 25, 2018
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	Dec. 30, 2018
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2019
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		57,690,431
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Public Float			$ 102,433,453