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Even a former scumbag TV reporter like me can understand how many firefighters and others will view this video as humorous. It gave me a little chuckle. And I can also see how many could view this as childish and might even be a little surprised that this is occurring at the headquarters station for the Kansas City (KS) Fire Department. Still, I will leave it to you to judge who looks good and who looks bad in this TV report.

The story being reported was about shift trading and a government audit that claims there has been abuse of the rules by firefighters. The story was first reported by the Kansas City Star Tuesday evening and on Wednesday was picked up by local TV. (You can read the government report here.)

This is not a story exclusive to Kansas City. It has been an issue in many jurisdictions over many years. In Cleveland there was an audit in 2011 that eventually resulted in criminal charges against 13 firefighters.

When I first spotted the pattern of fire department shift trading news cropping up across the country I suggested that it was probably a good idea for firefighters and departments everywhere to start self-policing this issue before more local political leaders took up the cause. For anywhere abuses still may be an issue, I still think that’s a more effective plan than trying to drown out the news media as they report the story.