Magazine Publishing Businesses Are Portable And Can Be Moved Into Digital

I’ve been pondering this quote from Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons, dismissing rumors that Time Warner is considering selling off Time Inc.:

“I like our publishing business, I like the magazine business and I like the fact that it’s portable and can be moved into digital,” he said. “I am not an advocate of selling Time Inc.”

So what does this mean, exactly? Does it mean that a magazine’s entire business can be “ported” online, i.e. so that it stops publishing in print? Or does it just mean that the content assets can be moved online?

If the latter, yeah, well, duh. If the former, could it be that Time Warner is considering following IDG down the path of all digital publishing? I doubt it, but such cryptic statements can certainly make you wonder.