My New York Times Word of the Day: monopsony

“Monopsony” wins hands down for today’s title. Used in “How Book Publishers Can Beat Amazon,” “monopsony” is defined in the enlightening piece by Bob Kohn as when a buyer of goods has the power to unlawfully lower the prices of what it buys. “Monopsony” is the mirror image of “monopoly,” which is when a seller of goods has the power to unlawfully raise prices. Seems to me we have a lot of situations these days that sure feel like monopolies and monopsonies. Take the airline industry, which has three or four major carriers that keep finding new ways to wrest money from their customers. And Walmart, which seems to control its suppliers perhaps more than it should. Anyone up for creating a game called “Monopsony”?

About Melinda Voss

Melinda Voss, MPH, APR, is a freelance writer, editor and public relations specialist. A staff writer for The Des Moines Register and Tribune for nearly 26 years, she has won regional and national awards and taught undergraduate and graduate journalism courses at three universities. In 1999, she earned a master's degree in public health from the University of Minnesota after co-founding the Association of Health Care Journalists in 1997. Voss initially served as the association's unpaid coordinator, then became the executive director from 1999 to 2004. She then became the public relations director for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system and served in that position until November 2012. She earned her APR, an accreditation in public relations, in 2011.

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