“What kind of business are we in?” is the rather plaintive title of a panel at this year’s American Magazine Conference, which began Sunday in Phoenix. And that is exactly the question that magazine executives are asking themselves these days.

Publishers of even the best-known and most successful American magazines are finding both the present and the future challenging and confusing. They know they have to be part of the digital revolution, but they are still not quite certain how to do this most successfully. Just as important, they — and their shareholders — may wonder when the Web presence in which they have already invested will become more profitable.

At this year’s conference, the emphasis was not on panels about traditional magazine journalism. Most of the panels addressed the digital revolution with heavy hitters from Google, Yahoo, and Cingular.

So what kind of business are major magazine publishers in today? “We’re in the brand business,” the chairman and CEO of the Magazine Publishers of America, Nina Link, said. “We have brands that people feel pretty passionate about and we produce material that can be put together in different ways.”

Rick Smith, the CEO and editor in chief of Newsweek said: “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.”

Christy Hefner, CEO of Playboy and chair of this year’s MPA Conference puts it this way: “We produce content that can exist in a multimedia world. We’re not in the railroad business anymore but the transportation business.”

“Yes, it is time of change and change is messy and scary,” Ms. Link concedes. “But every media — movies, television, music — are going through tremendous change and so are our partners in the advertising and retail world.”

Magazine advertising was fairly lackluster through the first nine months of this year, while Web advertising is growing. “There are so many ways for advertisers to reach audiences today,” Mr. Smith said.”Every individual medium has to fight harder.”

Though Web advertising revenues are rising, they still represent a far smaller part of revenues for most publishers. Still, Bob Carrigan, president of IDG — the Boston-based publisher of technology magazines that has created a successful and profitable Internet presence — says, “There is a lot of potential here. In just 10 years, online marketing revenue has grown faster than broadcast and cable TV in its first decade. It will continue to grow at a rate that can fund a lot of activity. In the future we will look back at this as a golden age.”

But to make the Web side of the business grow takes substantial investment in both technology and people. InnovativeWeb content is produced by editors with a different background than magazine editors with traditional print skills. Andrea Chambers, the director of the masters of science in publishing program at New York University, says, “It is difficult for old-style print editors who want the reader to absorb the content. But on the Web, readers want to control the content.”

Mr Carrigan agrees that successful Web sites are ones that are highly interactive. “Visitors to Web sites want services, and they want to contribute. A Web site cannot look like a print magazine. Having a magazine brand people know may give you a step up but that’s it. You have to build something different.”

NYU’s publishing program has been revised so that there is a digital component to every course offered.And those who want a career in magazine publishing, on the editorial or the business side, are advised that nowadays that means both print and electronic publishing.

Richard Stengel at Time magazine and Rosemary Ellis at Good Housekeeping, both newly hired top editors, each had considerable Web experience.

Diane Salvatore, editor in chief of Ladies’ Home Journal, says, “For editors, it really is a moment of great, unprecedented creativity. You are forced to think three-dimensionally because the reader really wants to participate on a new, intimate level.”

What are some magazines doing to satisfy this desire? Visitors to the Self magazine Web site can watch exercise videos, join a diet club, and get weekly fitness tips on their cell phones. American Baby has started “American Baby-On-The-Go,” which sends weekly information to busy expectant mothers on their handhelds. On GamePro.com, enthusiasts find reviews, previews, and the opportunity to buy new Xbox games. While on ESPN.com’s “Sweat Spot,” fans can share an exercise routine with their favorite athlete.

“It just isn’t one size fits all, anymore,” Ms. Link said. “Your brand and your audience will determine how you reach them. I am asked all the time about organization. Should a publisher have one advertising sales staff or two? One editorial staff or two? There are no definite answers yet. It isn’t unhealthy but it is unsettling.”