Document and Entity Information Document (USD $) In Billions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 25, 2011	Jun. 24, 2011	Feb. 17, 2012 Class A Common Stock	Feb. 17, 2012 Class B Common Stock	Jun. 24, 2011 Class B Common Stock
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	NEW YORK TIMES CO
Entity Central Index Key	0000071691
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-25
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 25, 2011
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	NYT
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			147,047,756	818,885	71,859
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Public Float		$ 1.1