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 $)	0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended						0 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended							9 Months Ended		0 Months Ended			3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended													0 Months Ended		9 Months Ended									0 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Mar. 14, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013	Mar. 14, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014 Standby letters of credit	Sep. 30, 2014 Swingline Credit Facility	Sep. 29, 2014 Term Loan B	Mar. 31, 2014 Term Loan B	Mar. 14, 2013 Term Loan B Installment	Sep. 30, 2014 Term Loan B	Sep. 30, 2013 Term Loan B	Sep. 30, 2014 Term Loan B	Sep. 30, 2013 Term Loan B	Sep. 29, 2014 Term Loan B	Mar. 31, 2014 Term Loan B	Dec. 30, 2013 Term Loan B	Jun. 28, 2013 Term Loan B	Mar. 14, 2013 Term Loan B	Sep. 30, 2014 Revolver	Mar. 14, 2013 Revolver	Jun. 03, 2013 Terminated 9 5/8% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2016	Mar. 14, 2013 Terminated 9 5/8% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2016	Dec. 31, 2009 Terminated 9 5/8% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2016	Sep. 30, 2013 Terminated 9 5/8% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2016	Sep. 30, 2014 Terminated 9 5/8% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2016	Sep. 30, 2013 Terminated 9 5/8% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2016	Jun. 03, 2013 Terminated 9 5/8% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2016	Mar. 14, 2013 Terminated 9 5/8% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2016	Dec. 31, 2012 Terminated 9 5/8% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2016	Dec. 12, 2012 Terminated 9 5/8% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2016	Jun. 01, 2012 Terminated 9 5/8% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2016	Dec. 12, 2011 Terminated 9 5/8% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2016	Sep. 06, 2011 Terminated 9 5/8% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2016	Jun. 01, 2011 Terminated 9 5/8% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2016	Dec. 01, 2010 Terminated 9 5/8% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2016	Jun. 01, 2010 Terminated 9 5/8% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2016	Dec. 31, 2009 Terminated 9 5/8% Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2016	Mar. 14, 2013 Revolver under senior credit facility	Nov. 15, 2011 Revolver under senior credit facility	Sep. 30, 2014 Revolver under senior credit facility	Mar. 14, 2013 Revolver under senior credit facility	Nov. 15, 2011 Revolver under senior credit facility	Nov. 01, 2010 Revolver under senior credit facility	Dec. 01, 2009 Revolver under senior credit facility	Sep. 30, 2014 Revolver under senior credit facility Minimum	Sep. 30, 2014 Revolver under senior credit facility Maximum	Sep. 30, 2014 Revolver under senior credit facility Covenant requirement Minimum	Sep. 30, 2014 Revolver under senior credit facility Covenant requirement Maximum	Sep. 15, 2012 Terminated Subordinated debt	May 21, 2012 Terminated Subordinated debt	Sep. 30, 2014 Terminated Subordinated debt	May 21, 2012 Terminated Subordinated debt	Sep. 30, 2014 Terminated Subordinated Debt due to Related Parties	Nov. 17, 2011 Terminated Subordinated Debt due to Related Parties Stuart W. Epperson, Board of Directors Chairman	Nov. 17, 2011 Terminated Subordinated Debt due to Related Parties Edward G. Atsinger III, Chief Executive Officer and Director	Sep. 12, 2012 Terminated Subordinated Debt due to Related Parties Roland S. Hinz, a Salem board member	May 21, 2012 Terminated Subordinated Debt due to Related Parties Roland S. Hinz, a Salem board member
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Credit facility, borrowing capacity								$ 5,000,000	$ 5,000,000				$ 284,000,000		$ 284,000,000						$ 300,000,000	$ 2,800,000	$ 25,000,000																																		$ 3,000,000	$ 6,000,000	$ 12,000,000	$ 6,000,000
Interest expense													141,000	47,000	110,000	48,000											0		37,000
Debt, issued at discount																					298,500,000																			298,100,000
Term loan maturity year															7 years							5 years
Term loan maturity period															2020-03							2018-03
Additional term loan amount increased												60,000,000
Credit facility, quarterly consecutive principal payments														750,000																																						1,250,000
Number of principal installments												4
Repayment of term loan										5,000,000	2,300,000
Loss on early retirement of long-term debt	33,000	18,000	16,000	26,000	27,792,000					18,000	8,000														26,900,000																900,000
Debt, accrued interest		45,000		45,000		37,000							36,000		36,000																	900,000
Floor percentage on Term Loan															1.00%
Debt, interest rate over LIBOR															3.50%																											3.00%
Debt, interest rate above base rate															2.50%																											1.25%
Debt, increase in interest rate if default occurs													2.00%		2.00%																														2.00%
Blended interest rate on amounts outstanding													5.04%		5.04%							5.04%
Revolving credit facility, covenant description																																											With respect to financial covenants, the credit agreement includes a minimum interest coverage ratio, which started at 1.50 to 1.0 and steps up to 2.50 to 1.0 by 2016 and a maximum leverage ratio, which started at 6.75 to 1.0 and steps down to 5.75 to 1.0 by 2017. 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 its subsidiary guarantors
Interest coverage ratio																																											344.00%							150.00%	250.00%
Leverage ratio																																											542.00%			500.00%		575.00%	675.00%
Debt, issuance of principal amount																	300,000,000																							300,000,000
Debt, effective yield																																								9.75%
Debt, interest payment terms																												Interest was due and payable on June 15 and December 15 of each year, commencing June 15, 2010 until maturity
Debt maturity period																												2016-12
Debt, annual interest payment																										28,900,000
Principal repurchased or redeemed																														903,000	212,597,000		4,000,000	17,500,000	12,500,000	5,000,000	17,500,000	12,500,000	17,500,000
Notes, aggregate purchase price																															240,300,000
Percent of debt purchase price																									110.65%
Amount paid for redemption																									22,700,000
Unamortized Discount														16,000		16,000	18,000	8,000	3,000	14,000										3,000	837,000		17,000	80,000	62,000	26,000	93,000	70,000	105,000
Bond Issue Costs																															2,867,000		57,000	287,000	337,000	135,000	472,000	334,000	417,000
Carrying value of notes																																212,600,000
Redeemed notes amount																								900,000
Debt, interest rate		9.625%	9.625%	9.625%	9.625%																						9.625%		9.625%
Debt outstanding							0																								0													0												0
Increase borrowing capacity																																														40,000,000	30,000,000
Debt, amendment fees																																										500,000
Revolving credit facility, second amendment description																																											On November 15, 2011, we completed the Second Amendment of the Terminated 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.
Revolving credit facility extend maturity date																																											Dec. 01, 2014
Credit facility, principal amount																																																							10,000,000
Debt, maturity date																																																						Jun. 15, 2014
Credit facility, interest at a floating rate																																																							4.25%
Credit facility, floating rate, interest above prime rate															2.50%							2.00%																															1.00%
Debt, interest rate terms																																																						The interest rate for the FCB Loan ("Interest Rate") was variable and was 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 subordinated line of credit bore interest at a rate equal to the lesser of (1) 5% per annum and (2) the maximum rate permitted for subordinated debt under the Terminated Revolver referred to above plus 2% per annum. Interest was payable at the time of any repayment of principal. In addition, outstanding amounts under each subordinated line of credit were required to be repaid within three (3) months from the time that such amounts were borrowed, with the exception of the subordinated line of credit with Mr. Hinz, which was to be repaid within six (6) months from the time that such amounts were borrowed.
Credit facility, term																																																				23 months
Credit facility, interest charge																																																				$ 50
Credit facility, increased interest rate																																																				5.00%
FCB loan termination date				Mar. 14, 2013
Debt, interest rate above LIBOR													3.50%		3.50%							3.00%