President Obama has chosen former journalist Jay Carney to replace press secretary Robert Gibbs, a longtime loyalist, when he leaves the post in mid-February -- one of a number of staff changes announced today by White House chief of staff Bill Daley.

Daley also named two new deputy chiefs of staff: Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the Office of Health Reform, and Alyssa Mastromonaco, White House director of scheduling and advance. (For a full list of staff changes, scroll to the bottom of this post.)

"I believe these decisions will bring greater clarity to our structure and roles and will enhance coordination and collaboration among us," Daley wrote in an email announcing the moves.

Carney, now the communications director for Vice President Biden, is the marquee move as he will assume perhaps the most high profile staff job in the White House.

He came to the Administration in 2008 after a long career in journalism that included serving as Washington bureau chief of Time magazine. Carney is married to ABC News' correspondent Claire Shipman.

The White House had made clear it was interested in tapping an outsider for the post -- particularly after Bill Daley was named the new chief of staff. Yet finding a successor to Gibbs has been no easy task. He enjoyed a close relationship with Obama dating back to 2004 when he worked on the president's Senate campaign.

Gibbs is expected to open his own consulting operation and appear on television as a prominent surrogate for the president. He will also be involved in the planning stages of Obama's reelection bid, which will be led by current deputy White House chief of staff Jim Messina.

Obama has undergone a major staff transition in recent weeks.

Gone -- or soon to be gone -- are Messina, senior adviser David Axelrod and political director Patrick Gaspard -- all three of whom are leaving the official White House staff to begin preparations for the 2012 presidential campaign.

In are Daley and David Plouffe, who managed Obama's 2008 race, among others.

Full list of White House staff transitions announced today

* Ron Bloom, Assistant to the President for Manufacturing Policy (National Economic Council)
* Jay Carney, Assistant to the President and Press Secretary
* Stephanie Cutter, Assistant to the President and Deputy Senior Advisor
* Nancy-Ann DeParle, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy
* David Lane, Assistant to the President and Counselor to the Chief of Staff
* Alyssa Mastromonaco, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations
* Rob Nabors, Assistant to the President and Director of Legislative Affairs
* Emmett Beliveau, Deputy Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the Chief of Staff
* Jon Carson, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Public Engagement
* Danielle Crutchfield, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Scheduling and Advance
* David Cusack, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Advance
* Mike Strautmanis, Deputy Assistant to the President and Counselor for Strategic Engagement to the Senior Advisor
* Jessica Wright, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Scheduling
* Brian Deese, Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council

More From The Fix

By Chris Cillizza and Anne E. Kornblut