I agree that it would massively help, but I don't think it would solve the entire problem. A lot of my interests online were cultivated as a kid where even a 10 cent charge would've made me click away. I'm sure it wouldn't have been an issue in highly developed countries, but it would've been a limiting factor for me.
So the model that works best for micropayments in most cases is exponentially decreasing prices over time. When the content is new it costs $1, in two months it costs $.50, in two months more it costs $.25, and so on down to zero, at which point it becomes free proof of the quality of your work to get people to pay for the newer stuff.
You can actually make more money using a pricing model like that, because you get to charge $1 to everyone who will pay $1 (everybody wants everything ASAP), but in a few months you still get the quarter from the guy who would only pay a quarter. And having a large volume of free old works to show the world you can produce good material is how you get new customers.
Which also solves the problem for people without money. (This is, incidentally, how copyright was originally intended to work. Screw you again, Mickey Mouse.)
Sure, this pricing model might work, but it'll still turn away people compared to right now. News that happened a few months ago isn't interesting anymore. Most people aren't going to read that. This essentially means that the section of people that can't afford the $1 price tag won't read your articles, unless they're researching some story later.
A lot of what we have online just isn't viable on pricing models like this. The main divide you'll see is likely by country due to wealth differences.
