Less than an hour after hearing about Christian Bale’s alleged beat down of his mother and sister, a PR firm sent the pop culture team here at the newspaper an email. This is how fast people react today. Check out the pitch:

“The arrest of Batman star Christian Bale for assaulting his mother and sister in a London hotel threatens to damage the Batman brand (as well as Bale’s).”

Oh no, brand damage! That’s among the worst sins in the 21st Century. The pitch continues:

“The summer’s largest blockbuster could take a box office dive unless studio executives, and Bale himself move quickly to address the crisis. (We) can discuss how executives should handle the latest crisis surrounding Dark Night...Bale being arrested shortly after Batman being released has huge implications for the Batman movie. Many questions will arise, and both Bale and studio executives need to move quickly to address this crisis, particularly given cast member Heath Ledger’s earlier drug overdose death.  There are huge implications for the brand as a whole. What will parents say to their children when they take them to the movie about why Batman beat up his mother?”

Hmm. Here’s an idea. Don’t take your kid to see The Dark Knight. It’s PG-13 for a reason.

Anyway, just sharing the fun of working at a newspaper in 2008. You can get a source on just about any topic at just about any minute of the day. But will they have anything worth saying? That’s the great question of the communications age, don’t you think?