Take a look at headlines for leading news sources in the U.S. and you’ll find stories about the serial killer recently caught in Atlanta, the soap opera-esque Kyron Horman case and the same-sex marriage court proceedings in California.

Big news, right?

Or at least the news we in America think is big.

I mean, no one cares about the flood affecting 14 million people in Pakistan.

Look around the news sections of any U.S.-based news source and you’ll hardly find mention of the crises going on in other countries.

If well-known Americans aren’t involved, then the news isn’t there — even in the world section.

Funny enough, at least one of the top news stories for any international news service pertains to Pakistan, and has since things began getting dire.

On Aug. 12, weeks after the floods began, the top story for the BBC World Service was about Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari finally visiting the affected areas of his country.

Wait, top story? For the world? And yet hardly a word of the matter can be found in the U.S. Huh?

This is ridiculous. Millions are approaching the brink of starvation, and we have hardly heard a word of it.

Of course, we shouldn’t be surprised. Not only is it a story about people dying in boring ways, it’s people dying in Pakistan.

According to a June CNN poll, 78 percent of Americans reported an unfavorable view of Pakistan, likely because of its al-Qaeda presence.

Pakistanis’ views toward Americans aren’t much different.

A 2010 Gallup poll reported 59 percent of Pakistanis considered the U.S. an enemy. At the same time, the polls reveal declining support among Pakistanis of militant groups like al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

What does this mean? It means American citizens have the chance to improve the average Pakistani’s public perception of the U.S., but without news organizations getting on board, how will anyone know to aid?

Governments and foreign folks may contribute, but Americans are more capable of assisting than anyone.

Our combined monetary power is greater than any in the rest of the world, even with the recession, depression or whatever your favorite economist calls it.

By overlooking the enormity of the situation and simply looking to the bottom line, the media may be sentencing thousands, even millions, to death.

No one knows, so no one cares. We want to be shocked. We want a personal connection. We want information that relates to us.

And besides, natural disasters are so passé now. After the Indonesian tsunamis, Hurricane Katrina and the Haitian earthquakes, we’re sick of hearing about people dying en masse.

We won’t hear of it. Who can blame American media for tuning out one more disaster? It’s unprofitable.

It’s sad, but Kyron Horman is only one kid who’s missing. In Pakistan, on the other hand, thousands of children are likely missing because of this disaster.

How can we justify such a disparity in coverage? We need real news. We need broad news. We need to know what’s going on in the world.

This self-centeredness will not end well if continued.

It’s no wonder we’ve begun sitting in the dust trail of other nations. Until we begin to understand that the world no longer revolves around us, we will never be able to understand how to make our way in the world of tomorrow.

National media, get with the picture.