media role
The function a media item serves in a product's presentation — the primary (hero) image a card and the top of a gallery render, an additional gallery shot, a thumbnail, a dimensional diagram, a lifestyle/in-context photo, a material swatch, a how-it-works demonstration, a downloadable reference document. A qualifier of the media property (not a standalone product slot): each media statement carries its own role, which is what lets a surface pick the one hero out of many assets. Orthogonal to medium type.
Media role is answered with one word chosen from the media roles list — the same word shared across every product that uses it.
It is a qualifier of media — it has meaning only inside a media statement, one per statement, never on its own. It belongs with media to media — how it is shown.
It is answered inside every media statement, not as a standalone question on a kind.
Answered inside every media statement — not a standalone slot on any kind.