Revenues, Depreciation/Amortization and Segment Profit by Segment (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2011
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues from external customers	$ 518,585,000	$ 546,979,000
Intersegment revenues	27,500,000	23,700,000
Depreciation and amortization	14,710,000	15,729,000
Segment profit (loss)	48,900,000	56,800,000
Shared Mail
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues from external customers	328,100,000	322,600,000
Intersegment revenues	4,500,000	4,500,000
Depreciation and amortization	8,300,000	10,000,000
Segment profit (loss)	42,400,000	42,100,000
Neighborhood Targeted
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues from external customers	72,200,000	90,100,000
Intersegment revenues	13,000,000	9,300,000
Depreciation and amortization	1,100,000	1,000,000
Segment profit (loss)	(1,600,000)	1,900,000
Free Standing Inserts (FSI)
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues from external customers	76,300,000	89,200,000
Intersegment revenues	10,000,000	9,800,000
Depreciation and amortization	3,200,000	3,000,000
Segment profit (loss)	5,400,000	7,400,000
International, Digital Media and Services
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues from external customers	42,000,000	45,100,000
Intersegment revenues	0	100,000
Depreciation and amortization	2,100,000	1,700,000
Segment profit (loss)	$ 2,700,000	$ 5,400,000