I'd prefer a micropayment system that was as automated as the current ad system is. Browsing a site would trigger an initial small payment. The total payment would be proportional to engagement, including the percentage of the article read, time spent on the site, links followed, and so on. There'd also be options to pay more, or to cancel payment.

I'm guessing that browsing would cost about $0.001, and that reading would cost between $.01 and $0.10 for average news articles, blog posts, etc. Magazine-length articles and reports would cost more. Is that about right to match typical ad income?