Kenyan editors and media managers have been asked to give journalists a decent pay to enhance professionalism in the industry.
KNCHR vice chair George Morara said this will go a long way in ending what has ailed journalism for a long time.
He said poor pay and under-staffing of newsrooms is the reason for the dwindling quality of journalistic works.
Morara was speaking during the First Editors Guild Luncheon held at a Nairobi hotel on Tuesday.
He took a swipe at editors saying they have on many occasions failed to offer transparent guidance to journalists under them, hence making them end up being compromised in their reporting.
He said such extreme low payments in the sector has pushed many struggling journalists to seek for alternative handouts to survive in the wake of the high cost of living.
Morara said editors and media owners should not hide behind the dwindling budgets to oppress the journalists.
"We have failed to come up with same standards across newsrooms and those that are existing do not display the best international practices," he said.
"For us to boast of a professional newsroom, we must ensure we end cheap labour, provide decent pay for journalists, provide adequate staff, and end abuse of those on internships."
Morara added: "Journalists sometimes get it wrong, but we must not forget that they operate in a society with a distorted framework."
The KNHCR official also challenged editors to think strategically on how to balance their content amid the never-ending political succession discourse.
He said editorial policies should factor in measures that do not allow media to be regarded as a political substitute.
"No one and no political situation should be immune to journalistic inquiry. Let us all remember that commentary journalism cannot replace independent coverage," Morara said.
Chief Justice David Maraga, who was the chief guest at the event, asked journalists to be more vibrant and focus on their watchdog role that contributes to transparency and accountability of state officers.
Maraga said the absence of a vibrant media hurts the society by giving room to political and constitutional illegitimacy to thrive.
"You must focus on your duty to report on the will of the Kenyan people and the actions of their leaders. It is a high time for us to ponder on whether you facilitated the country and its people to move in the right direction," Maraga said.
In terms of Media freedom, the Chief Justice said as much as it is a right guaranteed in the Constitution, it is limited to propaganda, war and incitement.
He said even state-owned media houses should let such institutions be free to determine the content to carry on their channels to get divergent views.