Strange view of a pre-digital world

I'm doing a bit of research on Financial PR companies at the moment, and one of the sources I've had a look at is Simon Brocklebank-Fowler's preface to Crawfords City Directory, 2007.

He has a lot of good things to say. But I'm afraid he is really living in the past. Here's what he has to say about retail investors' access to information:

"For all their failings, the UK Sunday papers remain surprisingly well informed about Monday announcements, and they provide almost the only source of effectively real time information available to the retail investor, deprived of Bloomberg and RNS."

For a start 'effectively real time' meaning 'something that was published yesterday' is a very odd turn of phrase to anyone who has worked in the IT industry... with a demand for 'real' real time.

But also... well excuse me here, but I thought the internet was now available to ordinary households? I thought you could get broadband for fifteen quid a month - which shouldn't prove an extortionate amount for anyone with a few grand to invest?

Er... Motley Fool? Sharecast? Citywire? Wallstrip (if you're US focused)? ADVFN? Even the Evening Standard now puts its financial scuttlebutt online (and has RSS links, so you don't have to go and look for it) at thisismoney.com. All of these seem to have passed Mr Brocklebank-Fowler by. And I wonder how well he is doing his job as a PR if he doesn't at least check on bulletin board comments from time to time.

Now if I had a good graphic designer here I would draw you two pictures. First, the archetypal private investor of twenty years ago. He's Victor Meldrew - tweed jacket, pipe, and why is he so cross? That's right, he's waiting for the Sunday Telegraph with its share tips, and the paper boy is ten minutes late!

Second, today's retail investor. He's sat in front of the PC, flicking between the Investor's Chronicle website and the ADVFN bulletin board and maybe then tabbing to some trade PR on the company concerned to check out whether this is spin, or maybe worth dropping a few grand into.

And why is he so cross? Oh yes, he can access his bank account online - and he's overdrawn :-)