Earnings/(Loss) Per Share (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013
Amounts attributable to The New York Times Company common stockholders:
Income from continuing operations	$ 2,737	$ 6,357
Loss from discontinued operations, net of income taxes	(994)	(2,785)
Net income attributable to The New York Times Company common stockholders	$ 1,743	$ 3,572
Weighted average number of shares outstanding, diluted
Average number of common shares outstanding-Basic (in shares)	150,612,000	148,710,000
Incremental shares for assumed exercise of securities	11,308,000	6,560,000
Average number of common shares outstanding-Diluted (in shares)Diluted (in shares)	161,920,000	155,270,000
Basic earnings/(loss) per share attributable to The New York Times Company common stockholders:
Income from continuing operations	$ 0.02	$ 0.04
Loss from discontinued operations, net of income taxes	$ (0.01)	$ (0.02)
Net income	$ 0.01	$ 0.02
Diluted earnings/(loss) per share attributable to The New York Times Company common stockholders:
Income from continuing operations	$ 0.02	$ 0.04
Loss from discontinued operations, net of income taxes	$ (0.01)	$ (0.02)
Net income	$ 0.01	$ 0.02
Employee Stock Option [Member]
Diluted earnings/(loss) per share attributable to The New York Times Company common stockholders:
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share (in shares)	7,000,000	11,000,000