Edinburgh, Aug. 28 (Reuters): Their relationships with two of the world’s most famous men brought international scandals — but Monica Lewinsky and Rebecca Loos both used the media onslaught to boost their bank balances.

“You’d be an idiot not to get the money,” said Lewinsky, the former White House intern whose affair with then President Bill Clinton nearly drove him from office.

“Advertisers, television stations, news anchors — everyone else is making money. Your story is a commodity,” added Lewinsky, who received a reported £400,000 for an interview with Britain’s Channel 4.

Loos, whose alleged affair with football superstar David Beckham was front-page news for weeks in Britain over the summer, got £120,000 for appearing on Sky News, according to her agent Max Clifford. Lewinsky, Loos and Clifford justified their media relations in a panel discussion in Edinburgh today at a British TV industry conference.

“Before, the media made a lot of money from people’s stories. Now, the people with the stories make the money — I don’t have a problem with that,” said Clifford, an agent famous for making lucrative interview deals with tabloid newspapers and television networks. An increase in chequebook journalism, especially on television, has spurred debates about ethics and reliability.

“I wasn’t big on buy-ups,” said David Yelland, former editor of Britain’s top-selling tabloid The Sun. “When you pay money the relationship changes. I think the British public understands that tabloids pay, but that hasn’t been generally true with television.”