Leaders of the Apax/Guardian Media Group alliance confirmed their belief in B2B publishing’s ability to weather an economic storm, at Magazines 2008, the Periodical Publishers Association’s annual conference, this morning. “All my instincts say there is a better chance of building the business in a time of turmoil,” said Stephen Grabiner, a partner at Apax, which teamed with GMG to buy Emap’s (LSE: EMA) B2B business in December and which also bought up Incisive. Press Gazette: “Grabiner warned that consumer magazine publishers would be worth less in five years time than they are now.” It’s a dry fact but underlines why GMG bought in to B2B - GMG CEO Carolyn McCall (via Guardian) said the Emap acquisition reduced its print revenue proportion from 85 percent to 65 percent: “The data and events business is where we expect the greatest growth – data in particular. I believe that b2b is just about the best sector in the media to be in right now.”

Diary marker: I will be reporting from the Magazines 2008 digital seminar on Wednesday.