Back at the American Magazine Conference in Phoenix (we promise, it'll end tomorrow .. or, at the latest, next week), attendees are battling – or being barraged by reporters asking – the question: "What kind of business are major magazine publishers in today?" Let's tune in:

• "We're in the brand business. We have brands that people feel pretty passionate about and we produce material that can be put together in different ways." —Nina Link, chairman/CEO of MPA

• "We are in the business of producing content. And I didn't say the only way to do it was print. But it is still core of what we do." — Rick Smith, CEO and editor of Newsweek

• "We produce content that can exist in a multimedia world. We're not in the railroad business anymore but the transportation business." — Christy Hefner, CEO of Playboy

And since Us Weekly's Janice Min couldn't be there, she phoned in her response: "We're in the business of throwing crap at the wall and seeing what sticks in Jennifer Aniston's hair."

The Magazine Industry Ponders Its Future [Myrna Blyth, NYS]