Retirement Plans - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) Share data in Millions, unless otherwise specified					12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended						3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2012		Dec. 25, 2011		Dec. 30, 2012 Maximum	Dec. 30, 2012 Multiemployer Defined Benefit Pension Plans with Unknown Withdrawal Liabilities	Dec. 30, 2012 Plans in red zone Maximum	Dec. 30, 2012 Plans in yellow zone Maximum	Dec. 30, 2012 Plans in yellow zone Minimum	Oct. 31, 2010 Pension Plans, Defined Benefit	Dec. 30, 2012 Pension Plans, Defined Benefit	Dec. 25, 2011 Pension Plans, Defined Benefit	Dec. 26, 2010 Pension Plans, Defined Benefit	Dec. 30, 2012 Pension Plans, Defined Benefit Before Amendment	Dec. 30, 2012 Pension Plans, Defined Benefit After Amendment	Dec. 30, 2012 Gannett Retirement Plan	Mar. 31, 2013 Gannett Retirement Plan Defined Benefit Plan Contributions	Dec. 30, 2012 Newsquest	Dec. 30, 2012 Multiemployer Plans, Pension	Dec. 25, 2011 Multiemployer Plans, Pension	Dec. 26, 2010 Multiemployer Plans, Pension
Defined Benefit Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans Table Text Block [Line Items]
Matching employer contribution percentage														50.00%	100.00%
Employer contribution percentage														6.00%	5.00%
Curtailment gain, pre-tax										$ 3,300,000	$ 0	$ 0	$ (3,840,000)
Accumulated benefit obligation											3,550,000,000	3,320,000,000
Net actuarial losses recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss											1,720,000,000	1,530,000,000
Prior service credits recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss											61,300,000	69,000,000
Actuarial loss estimated to be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive loss into net periodic benefit cost											60,800,000
Prior service credit estimated to be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive loss into net periodic benefit cost											7,600,000
Employer contribution											137,499,000	56,392,000				94,000,000	50,000,000	8,000,000
Employer expected contribution remainder of the year																		37,000,000
Fair value of plan assets	2,594,250,000	[1]	2,518,515,000	[1]							2,552,316,000	2,408,768,000	2,588,728,000
Expected long-term rate of return on plan assets											8.25%	8.75%	8.75%
Actual rate of return on plan assets											12.60%	0.40%	14.00%
Plan assets, shares of common stock											1.2
Plan assets, value of common stock											22,000,000	17,000,000
Plan assets, dividends received											1,000,000
Multi-employer plans funded percentage (less than 65% of red zone, less than 80% of orange zone, and at least 80% of green zone plans in 2012)							Less than 65 percent	Between 65 and less than 80 percent	At least 80 percent
Employer's contributions as a percent of total contribution					5.00%
Expenses incurred for multi-employer withdrawal liabilities																			3,000,000	30,000,000	4,000,000
Other long-term liabilities, withdrawal liabilities for multi-employer pension plans	$ 38,000,000		$ 42,000,000			$ 30,000,000

[1] The company uses a Dec. 31 measurement date for its retirement plans.