A Congressional committee put to bed speculation that the legislature was considering a financial bailout for struggling newspapers on Thursday

“I want to be very clear: This is not about bailouts. No one’s talking about bailouts. We’re through with bailouts,” said Joint Economic Committee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY).

Rep. Maloney said that bailouts were not the only solution to preserving struggling newspapers. The chairwoman voiced support for Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin‘s Newspaper Revitalization Act, a bill which would grant tax credits to newspapers and allow them to transition into non-profit organizations.

“Unless something is done, and done fast, it’s likely that many metropolitan areas may soon have no local daily newspapers, and that would damage our democracy. Providing this option to structure their business would be a way for a community or local foundations to preserve their local paper,” she said.

The issue piqued the interest of the press and blogosphere, especially after President Barack Obama told two newspapers that he was “open” to the idea of a news bailout. That level of intrigue, however, failed to reach congress. Only three congressmen on the 20 member committee attended the meeting. In fact, Rep. Maloney, who organized the hearing, excused herself at one point to attend a House vote.

An American public that has grown tired of bailouts and mainstream media showed overarching opposition to the question of government financed newsgathering.

Nearly 8 out of 10 Americans would oppose any plan to spend tax dollars to aid failing newspapers, according to a poll on news media trustworthiness released Wednesday.

That reluctance might have something to do with the fact that 38.1% of respondents to the poll by Sacred Heart University said they are reading newspapers less often than five years ago. Or the fact that nearly half, 45%, said they think the Internet is “adequately covering for failing newspapers.” Just 35.6% disagreed with that statement.

The third annual Sacred Heart poll found substantial support for the notion that good journalism ensures a healthy democracy, with 64.1% in agreement.

On the other hand, the poll found Americans do not believe they are getting “good journalism.” Just under 68% of respondents agreement with this statement: “Old-style, traditionally objective and fair journalism is dead.” Just 26.5% disagreed, while 5.6% were unsure.