Pending Broadcast Merger and Newspaper Spin-off (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended				0 Months Ended	2 Months Ended			0 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013	Jul. 30, 2014 Newspaper operations Parent company newspaper	Sep. 30, 2014 Journal Communications, Inc.	Sep. 30, 2014 Journal Communications, Inc.	Jul. 30, 2014 Journal Communications, Inc.	Dec. 31, 2013 Journal Communications, Inc.	Sep. 30, 2014 Journal Communications, Inc. Minimum	Sep. 30, 2014 Journal Communications, Inc. Maximum	Jul. 30, 2014 Journal Communications, Inc. Television operations employee	Jul. 30, 2014 Journal Communications, Inc. Newspaper operations employee
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Television operations, percentage of U.S. households reached													18.00%
Approximate number of employees													4,000	3,600
Number of newspapers						13
Special cash dividend									$ 60,000,000
Estimated acquisition-related costs	5,049,000	0	9,408,000	0				6,700,000			25	30,000,000
Employee benefit obligations										66,000,000
Outstanding debt	198,500,000		198,500,000		200,000,000			144,000,000
Outstanding debt, required to be refinanced								131,000,000
Liquidation damages upon breach of merger							$ 15,800,000					$ 23,500,000