Discontinued Operations - Narrative (Details) $ in Thousands			2 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2017 USD ($) seat	May 31, 2017 USD ($) market company	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($)
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Number of publicly traded companies after disposal | company		2
Shares of spin-off received by Tegna shareholders, conversion ratio		0.3333
Tax-free distribution						$ 20,133	$ 0
Impairment of goodwill						332,900
Cars.com
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Minimum notice period of termination of transition services		45 days
CareerBuilder
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Proceeds from sale of discontinued operation	$ 198,300
Dividend issued prior to sale	$ 25,800			$ 25,800
Ownership interest before sale (as a percent)	53.00%
Loss on sale of CareerBuilder						342,900
Impairment of goodwill						332,900
Business exit costs						10,900
TEGNA
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Number of markets In which entity operates | market		25
Maximum | Cars.com
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Transition services agreement, period		24 months
Minimum | Cars.com
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Transition services agreement, period		60 days
Revolving Credit Facility
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Repayments of revolving credit agreement		$ 609,900			$ 609,900
Revolving Credit Facility | Cars.com
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Tax-free distribution		$ 650,000				650,000
CareerBuilder
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Equity method investment retained after disposal, ownership interest (as a percent)	17.00%
Equity method investment retained after disposal, fully diluted ownership interest (as a percent)	12.00%
Number seats retained on Board of Directors after sale | seat	2
Total number of seats on Board of Directors | seat	10
Equity income (loss) in unconsolidated investments, net			$ 500
Attributable to TEGNA | CareerBuilder
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Loss on sale of CareerBuilder						$ 271,700