[jeffreyrogers]

Being privately owned isn't the same thing as being owned by private equity. And looking at the NYT it has Class A and Class B shares, where only the Class B shares are privately owned. The usual reason for dividing the shares into different classes is to give the owners of one class rights that the other class doesn't have. I'm not sure what, if any, differences there are between the NYT's Class A and Class B shares.

[alphonse23]

I'll admit, I don't know what the specific legal definition of private equity is. According to wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_equity "In finance, private equity is an asset class consisting of equity securities and debt in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange." There are probably more legal specifics that would further divide private equity from just anything that's not publicly traded. But, you're on the right track, if in fact the private Class B shares override the rights of Class A shares (significantly), then the NYT's could be seen as just another shady entity in our lives that's controlled by private equity, as the link tries to illuminate.

[rcar]

The article is using the term "private equity" to refer to private equity firms, so the more relevant wiki article is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_equity_firm

[the_watcher]

The article links to another titled "What is private equity." Privately owned != private equity.

[james1071]

Private equity means leveraged buy out.