Ratings for the Late Show with David Letterman, have been on the upswing ever since Letterman confessed (on air) to having sex with female members of his staff. The moral of this story is that scandal, especially scandal involving sex, always sells.

Entertainment Weekly reports:
If there’s one thing David Letterman has learned this week, it’s that a little contrition and self-deprecating humor can go a long way. After a shocking admission about office affairs and an alleged blackmail plot, The Late Show host is winning back his fans’ respect with jokes (”I got into the car this morning and the navigation lady wasn’t speaking to me”) and apologies, including one directly to his wife, Regina Lasko, and his staff, whom he thanked for ”putting up with something stupid I’ve gotten myself involved in.”

While the October 5th episode was up 14 percent in ratings from his season-to-date average, questions linger over whether CBS and Late Show’s production company, Worldwide Pants, should launch internal investigations into the comedian’s conduct. ”Clearly CBS has a moral and political obligation to investigate this,” says NOW president Terry O’Neill, who’s also a lawyer. But a Worldwide Pants spokesman says that the company circulates an employee manual each year that addresses harassment, while also saying, ”Dave is not in violation of our policy, and no one has ever raised a complaint against him.” READ MORE