Revenues, Depreciation/Amortization and Segment Profit by Segment (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues from external customers	$ 523,822,000	$ 528,391,000	$ 1,582,645,000	$ 1,640,622,000
Intersegment revenues	29,300,000	27,900,000	84,400,000	78,500,000
Depreciation and amortization	13,900,000	14,400,000	43,022,000	45,487,000
Segment profit (loss)	58,900,000	49,000,000	167,400,000	169,000,000
Shared Mail
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues from external customers	331,400,000	330,500,000	1,008,200,000	990,300,000
Intersegment revenues	4,300,000	4,400,000	12,700,000	13,000,000
Depreciation and amortization	7,700,000	8,900,000	24,200,000	28,400,000
Segment profit (loss)	52,300,000	46,200,000	147,000,000	136,000,000
Neighborhood Targeted
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues from external customers	75,800,000	76,900,000	225,500,000	255,800,000
Intersegment revenues	15,700,000	13,800,000	42,300,000	36,000,000
Depreciation and amortization	1,000,000	1,200,000	3,100,000	3,200,000
Segment profit (loss)	(1,100,000)	400,000	(5,100,000)	3,100,000
Free Standing Inserts (FSI)
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues from external customers	72,200,000	73,500,000	219,000,000	251,900,000
Intersegment revenues	9,300,000	9,600,000	29,400,000	29,200,000
Depreciation and amortization	3,200,000	3,600,000	9,600,000	9,600,000
Segment profit (loss)	7,600,000	(800,000)	20,300,000	14,900,000
International, Digital Media and Services
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Revenues from external customers	44,400,000	47,500,000	129,900,000	142,600,000
Intersegment revenues	0	100,000	0	300,000
Depreciation and amortization	2,000,000	700,000	6,100,000	4,300,000
Segment profit (loss)	$ 100,000	$ 3,200,000	$ 5,200,000	$ 15,000,000