Earnings/(Loss) Per Share (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 28, 2014	Sep. 29, 2013	Sep. 28, 2014	Sep. 29, 2013	Sep. 28, 2014 Employee Stock Option [Member]	Sep. 29, 2013 Employee Stock Option [Member]	Sep. 28, 2014 Employee Stock Option [Member]	Sep. 29, 2013 Employee Stock Option [Member]	Jan. 31, 2009 Class A Common Stock [Member]
Amounts attributable to The New York Times Company common stockholders:
(Loss)/income from continuing operations	$ (12,499)	$ (5,239)	$ (574)	$ 18,474
(Loss) from discontinued operations, net of income taxes	0	(18,987)	(994)	(18,995)
Net (loss) attributable to The New York Times Company common stockholders	$ (12,499)	$ (24,226)	$ (1,568)	$ (521)
Weighted average number of shares outstanding, diluted
Average number of common shares outstanding-Basic (in shares)	150,822,000	150,033,000	150,728,000	149,724,000
Incremental shares for assumed exercise of securities	0	0	0	6,736,000
Average number of common shares outstanding-Diluted (in shares)	150,822,000	150,033,000	150,728,000	156,460,000
Basic (loss)/earnings per share attributable to The New York Times Company common stockholders:
(Loss)/income from continuing operations (in dollars per share)	$ (0.08)	$ (0.03)	$ 0.00	$ 0.12
(Loss) from discontinued operations, net of income taxes (in dollars per share)	$ 0.00	$ (0.13)	$ (0.01)	$ (0.13)
Net (loss) (in dollars per share)	$ (0.08)	$ (0.16)	$ (0.01)	$ (0.01)
Diluted (loss)/earnings per share attributable to The New York Times Company common stockholders:
(Loss)/income from continuing operations (in dollars per share)	$ (0.08)	$ (0.03)	$ 0.00	$ 0.12
(Loss) from discontinued operations, net of income taxes (in dollars per share)	$ 0.00	$ (0.13)	$ (0.01)	$ (0.12)
Net (loss) (in dollars per share)	$ (0.08)	$ (0.16)	$ (0.01)	$ 0.00
Warrants issued In connection with debt issuance									15,900,000
Class of warrant or right, exercise price of warrants or rights (USD per warrant)									6.3572
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share (in shares)					6,000,000	13,000,000	6,000,000	9,000,000