Still publishing its flagship "National Geographic" magazine, the not-for-profit National Geographic Society (NGS) has expanded into an array of venues to enhance our knowledge of the big blue marble. The NGS has staked claims in the worlds of television and the Web, as well as in book publishing and map-making. With News Corp., it operates the National Geographic Channel US, a cable channel that reaches about 70 million households worldwide. The organization also supports geographic expeditions (it has funded more than 8,000 scientific research projects), and sponsors exhibits, lectures, and education programs. The NGS was founded in 1888, the year the first issue of National Geographic magazine was published.