John Dos Passos would beam

Slate Media has launched The Big Money, a finance publication that aims to be more accessible — and slightly wittier — than other business journalism sites.

The Big Money may be read by "harried Wall Street traders," but the site also targets casual business-news consumers seeking a gateway to the world of finance, editor Jim Ledbetter explained in a welcome note.

Ledbetter is the former Deputy Managing Editor of CNN Money. For the project, he — and Deputy Editor Elinor Shields from The Huffington Post — keep a "lean editorial team." Most the site content will come from freelance writers, the New York Times reports.

Today's Business Press, the most prominent nav link on the homepage, contains highlights from major publications. One feature, YouTube BrandWatch, showcases the week's most popular branded videos and lets users decide if they hurt or help the company. Stats on the video's "viral" success, as well as an explanation of what it is, are also included.

Today's video is "Where the Hell is Matt?", a viral by Stride Gum that generated 11 million views so far. It is composed of footage of a freelance video game designer named Matt Harding, dancing around the world:

Other major sections include Daily Bread, a news blog about the food industry, and Feeling Lucky, which covers only Google-related news.

Interactive tools include:

• We Build Your Presentation, a "Chart/Graph of the Week" selected by the editor.
• The SRI Stock Screener, a list of companies ranked in order of social reponsibility, using data and analysis from IW Financial.
• WSJ Quips, a Twitter-like space where people can make comments about — you guessed it — Wall Street Journal articles.
• Money Talks, a weekly podcast that provides a rundown on business news and events.

The Slate Group, a Washington Post subsidiary since 2004, announced the site's impending launch last July. First-to-base advertisers included Infiniti and American Express.