Saud al-Qahtani
Saud al-Qahtani

The more than 10,000 accounts that Twitter permanently suspended Sept. 20 include that of former Saudi royal court adviser Saud al-Qahtani, who is suspected of being involved in the October 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. A blog post on Twitter’s website says that al-Qahtani’s account was removed because of “violations of our platform manipulation policies.” In addition, six accounts linked to Saudi Arabia’s state-run media apparatus were suspended, as well as more than 4,000 accounts in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. Spain, Ecuador and China were also among the countries where accounts were suspended. Twitter says that the suspensions are part of its efforts to “enhance and refine our approach to disclosing state-affiliated information operations on our service.”

Paul Ingrassia
Paul Ingrassia

Former Wall Street Journal Detroit bureau editor Paul Ingrassia, who won a Pulitzer for his coverage of the upheaval at General Motors, died Sept. 16 in Naples, Fla., where he had been undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer. He was 69 years old. Ingrassia, along with his deputy, Joseph B. White, won the 1993 Pulitzer for beat reporting. They also received a Gerald Loeb Award, which is presented by the University of California for distinguished business and financial reporting, for their work. He also wrote several books about the auto industry, including “Comeback” (1994), written with White; “Crash Course” (2010) and “Engines of Change” (2012). Ingrassia worked for Dow Jones & Co., former owners of the Journal, from 1977 to 2007. He went to work for Reuters as managing editor after the Journal was bought by News Corporation, and was named deputy editor in chief of Thomson Reuters in 2011. Most recently, he served as editor at the Revs Institute, an automotive history research center. “He combined a deep understanding of financial markets and clarity of news judgment with a keen eye for emerging talent,” said Reuters editor-in-chief Stephen J. Adler.

Peloton

Direct-to-consumer companies such as Peloton and Warby Parker are discovering TV ads, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. DTC companies, which have generally avoided opening physical retail outlets, also have tended to do most of their advertising through targeted social media. However, the Journal cites a report from Magna Global, an ad-buying group, that says TV ad buying from DTC companies rose 32 percent in the first half of this year, following a 52 percent jump last year. Magna Global’s report also says that the overall U.S. ad marketplace grew by 7.6 percent in the first half of this year, hitting $107 billion. For 2020, Magna predicts that $5.5 billion in revenues from political ad spending will offset any potential softening of the economy and fuel the ad market to its 11th consecutive year of growth.