Debt - Footnotes (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Jun. 30, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Senior Notes \| 5.875% Senior Notes due 2022
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Stated interest rate	5.875%	5.875%
Debt issuance costs	$ 8,478	$ 9,861
Term B Loans \| Senior Secured Credit Agreement
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Effective Percentage	3.84%	3.84%
Debt instrument, unamortized discount and debt issuance costs	$ 952	$ 1,268
Term C Loans \| Senior Secured Credit Agreement
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Effective Percentage	3.85%	3.85%
Debt instrument, unamortized discount and debt issuance costs	$ 16,565	$ 18,305

Debt instrument, unamortized discount and debt issuance costs

No definition available.

Name:	trco_Debtinstrumentunamortizeddiscountanddebtissuancecosts
Namespace Prefix:	trco_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Effective interest rate for the funds borrowed under the debt agreement considering interest compounding and original issue discount or premium.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 470
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 6
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109500613&loc=SL6036836-161870

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 835
-SubTopic 30
-Section 45
-Paragraph 2
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=114775744&loc=d3e28551-108399

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.22(a)(1))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentInterestRateEffectivePercentage
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Contractual interest rate for funds borrowed, under the debt agreement.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentInterestRateStatedPercentage
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount, after accumulated amortization, of debt issuance costs. Includes, but is not limited to, legal, accounting, underwriting, printing, and registration costs.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.17)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 835
-SubTopic 30
-Section 45
-Paragraph 3
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=114775744&loc=d3e28555-108399

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DeferredFinanceCostsNet
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_LongtermDebtTypeAxis=us-gaap_SeniorNotesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis=trco_SeniorNotes5.875due2022Member
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_CreditFacilityAxis=trco_TermBLoansFacilityMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis=trco_SeniorSecuredCreditAgreementMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_CreditFacilityAxis=trco_TermCLoanFacilityMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: