Mexico City - The Committee to Protect Journalists says attacks on the press in Mexico represent a "national crisis" that demands "a full-scale federal response."

The New York-based press group says that eight of 22 journalists killed since President Felipe Calderon took office in 2006 were murdered in reprisal for their work.

The committee said in a report released Wednesday that "systemic impunity has taken root" at state and local levels, where most such attacks go almost uninvestigated..

It called for federal prosecutors to take over investigations into such crimes.

Mexico's National Human Rights Commission says more than 60 reporters have been killed since 2000, and many more have been harassed and threatened by drug gangs.