Salem Media Group, Inc. Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Notes Payable and Long-Term Debt - Additional Information (Detail)

Notes Payable and Long-Term Debt - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	9 Months Ended								1 Months Ended						3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended						3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Nov. 15, 2011 Revolver under senior credit facility	Sep. 30, 2012 Revolver under senior credit facility	Dec. 31, 2011 Revolver under senior credit facility	Nov. 01, 2010 Revolver under senior credit facility	Dec. 01, 2009 Revolver under senior credit facility	Sep. 30, 2012 Revolver under senior credit facility Standby letters of credit	Sep. 30, 2012 Revolver under senior credit facility Swingline loans	Sep. 30, 2012 Revolver under senior credit facility Covenant requirement Maximum	Sep. 30, 2012 Revolver under senior credit facility Covenant requirement Minimum	Nov. 15, 2011 Revolver under senior credit facility Before second amendment	Jun. 01, 2012 9 5/8% senior secured second lien notes	Dec. 12, 2011 9 5/8% senior secured second lien notes	Sep. 06, 2011 9 5/8% senior secured second lien notes	Jun. 01, 2011 9 5/8% senior secured second lien notes	Dec. 01, 2009 9 5/8% senior secured second lien notes	Sep. 30, 2012 9 5/8% senior secured second lien notes	Sep. 30, 2011 9 5/8% senior secured second lien notes	Sep. 30, 2012 9 5/8% senior secured second lien notes	Sep. 30, 2011 9 5/8% senior secured second lien notes	Dec. 31, 2011 9 5/8% senior secured second lien notes	Dec. 01, 2010 9 5/8% senior secured second lien notes	Jun. 01, 2010 9 5/8% senior secured second lien notes	May 21, 2012 Subordinated debt	Sep. 30, 2012 Subordinated debt	Sep. 30, 2012 Subordinated debt Minimum	Sep. 30, 2012 Subordinated debt Through December 31, 2012 Maximum	Sep. 30, 2012 Subordinated debt January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2013 Maximum	Sep. 30, 2012 Subordinated debt January 1, 2014 through maturity Maximum	Sep. 30, 2011 Subordinated debt due to related parties	Sep. 30, 2012 Subordinated debt due to related parties	May 21, 2012 Subordinated debt due to related parties	Dec. 31, 2011 Subordinated debt due to related parties	Nov. 17, 2011 Subordinated debt due to related parties Stuart W.Epperson, Board of Directors Chairman	Nov. 17, 2011 Subordinated debt due to related parties EdwardG. Atsinger III, Chief Executive Officer and Director	May 21, 2012 Subordinated debt due to related parties Roland S. Hinz, a Salem board member
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Credit facility, borrowing capacity								$ 40,000,000	$ 30,000,000	$ 5,000,000	$ 5,000,000																								$ 12,000,000		$ 3,000,000	$ 6,000,000	$ 6,000,000
Leverage ratio						4.97		5.0				6.25																4.97		6.25	6.00	5.50
Revolving credit facility, second amendment description					On November 15, 2011, we completed the Second Amendment of our Revolver to among other things, (1) extend the maturity date from December 1, 2012 to December 1, 2014, (2) change the interest rate applicable to LIBOR or the Wells Fargo base rate plus a spread to be determined based on our leverage ratio, (3) allow us to borrow and repay unsecured indebtedness provided certain conditions are met and (4) include step-downs related to our leverage ratio covenant
Debt, maturity date					Dec. 01, 2014									Dec. 01, 2012													Jun. 15, 2014
Debt, amendment fees					500,000
Debt, interest rate over LIBOR					3.00%
Debt, interest rate above base rate					1.25%
Debt, increase in interest rate if default occurs					2.00%
Debt, interest rate						3.29%																9.625%		9.625%
Revolving credit facility, covenant description						With respect to financial covenants, the credit agreement includes a maximum leverage ratio of 6.25 to 1.0 and a minimum interest coverage ratio of 1.5 to 1. The credit agreement also includes other negative covenants that are customary for credit facilities of this type, including covenants that, subject to exceptions described in the Credit Agreement, restrict the ability of Salem and the guarantors (i) to incur additional indebtedness; (ii) to make investments; (iii) to make distributions, loans or transfers of assets; (iv) to enter into, create, incur, assume or suffer to exist any liens; (v) to sell assets; (vi) to enter into transactions with affiliates; (vii) to merge or consolidate with, or dispose of all or substantially all assets to, a third party; (viii) to prepay indebtedness; and (ix) to pay dividends. As of September 30, 2012, our leverage ratio was 5.10 to 1 and our interest coverage ratio was 2.09 to 1. We were in compliance with our debt covenants under the Revolver at September 30, 2012, and we remain in compliance.
Interest coverage ratio						2.18							1.5															2.18	1.5
Debt, issuance of principal amount																			300,000,000
Debt, issued at discount																			298,100,000
Debt, effective yield																			9.75%
Debt, interest payment terms																			Interest is due and payable on June 15 and December 15 of each year, commencing June 15, 2010 until maturity.
Debt maturity date																			2016-12
Debt, annual interest payment																			28,900,000
Debt, accrued interest																				6,200,000		6,200,000		1,000,000				26,900
Interest expense																				48,000	100,000	48,000	100,000
Principal repurchased or redeemed															17,500,000	12,500,000	5,000,000	17,500,000							12,500,000	17,500,000
Debt, purchase price															18,000,000	12,900,000	5,100,000	18,000,000
Percent of debt purchase price															103.00%	103.00%	102.875%	103.00%
Pre-tax loss on early retirement of debt	(305,000)	(893,000)	(1,395,000)												(900,000)	(800,000)	(300,000)	(100,000)
Unamortized Discount															80,000	62,000	26,000	93,000							70,000	105,000
Bond issue cost															287,000	337,000	135,000	472,000							334,000	417,000
Long-term debt		270,570,000		274,803,000		29,369,000	31,000,000													216,561,000		216,561,000		233,846,000				8,750,000						15,000,000		9,000,000
Credit facility, principal amount																											10,000,000
Credit facility, interest at a floating rate																											4.25%
Credit facility, floating rate, interest above prime rate						1.25%																					1.00%
Debt, interest rate terms																											The interest rate for the FCB Loan ("Interest Rate") is variable and shall be equal to the greater of (a) 4.250% or (b) the Wall Street Journal Prime Rate as published in The Wall Street Journal and reported by FCB plus 1%.						Outstanding amounts under each Affiliate Line of Credit will bear interest at a rate equal to the lesser of (1) 5% per annum and (2) the maximum rate permitted for subordinated debt under the Revolver referred to above plus 2% per annum.	Interest rate equal to the lesser of (1) 5% per annum and (2) the maximum rate permitted for subordinated debt under the Revolver plus 2% per annum.
Credit facility, term																											23 months
Credit facility, interest charge																											50
Credit facility, quarterly consecutive principal payments																											1,250,000
Credit facility, increased interest rate																											5.00%
Credit facility, outstanding amount						29,400,000																											15,000,000	15,000,000		9,000,000
Debt, interest rate above LIBOR						3.00%
Debt, outstanding borrowing																				$ 217,500,000		$ 217,500,000
Debt, interest payment frequency																						Semi-annual
Credit facility, commitment fee on unused balance						0.60%